A Little Outside of Nature's Laws
by barbara princess of delphi
Summary: "…his thing with the reindeer, that's a little outside of nature's laws" - Post-movie, Anna marries Kristoff in order to hide her more-than-sisterly relationship with Elsa. But Kristoff has a secret love of his own… and an even bigger secret in the royal family's past lies waiting to be discovered.
1. The 'Thing'

It was the fourth anniversary of the Great Thaw, and the usual celebrations of one more year under Queen Elsa's reign were just hours away. But this year there was to be one additional celebration – an Arendelle royal wedding. Princess Anna, the queen's younger sister, would be marrying Sir Kristoff Bjorgman on this day, and the full complement of foreign nobles were on hand to wish the new royal couple all their blessings.

But the energetic princess who usually headlined any Arendelle royal celebration was less enthusiastic about this particular celebration than any other in recent memory.

"Do I have to?"

Even at the ripe old age of 22, Anna could still pout and whine like a five-year-old child…

"Anna, we've been over this a thousand times."

…but Elsa's patience could never be exhausted when it came to her adorable little sister.

"I know, I know," the redheaded princess grumbled in front of her body-length mirror, "we need heirs and Kristoff makes a good cover…" she lifted her arms up for Elsa to slip the dress on from behind her, "doesn't mean I have to like it, though." She crossed her arms and glared at Elsa in the mirror, showing her typical "stubborn Anna" posture.

"Aww, come on… give the poor guy a chance before you decide you don't like him." Elsa ran her fingers through Anna's hair as she spoke, adding bits of ice to build her hair into its proper ceremonial appearance. "Who knows, maybe you'll enjoy him so much you won't need me anymore?" She looked at Anna through the mirror and winked saucily.

There was a knock on the door. "Your highness," Gerda's voice called out, "the ceremony begins in half an hour!"

"We're almost ready, thank you Gerda," Elsa answered without turning to face the door. Then she turned Anna around in her arms and gave her a quick kiss. "Come on Anna, you can do this," she said encouragingly. "Just pretend you're saying your vows to me instead of Kristoff."

And the two royals went downstairs, hand in hand, looking like nothing more than an affectionate pair of sisters.

* * *

Later that night, after a great deal of rather exhausting celebrations, the newly married couple retired to their home just outside the castle.

Four years ago, upon his initial appointment as Royal Ice Master, Kristoff had been offered a room in the advisors' wing of the castle, along with the other members of the royal council. But Kristoff had declined, uncomfortable with being constantly waited on by servants. As a peasant by birth, and unaccustomed to the luxuries of palace life, he instead preferred to build his own simple house adjacent to the palace grounds, with an adjoining stables for Sven. This had become the official residence of the Royal Ice Master, and resembled any other artisan-class dwelling in Arendelle, distinguished only by the constant presence of one or two palace guards stationed at the entrance.

Over the course of those four years, due to the royal courtship, Princess Anna came to Kristoff's house quite frequently. They had agreed that she would move in with him, since she felt more comfortable in the cozy house than he did in the palace.

They entered the dark house, and Anna tried to keep herself awake in anticipation of the wedding night, only for Kristoff to say, "Anna, you look as tired as I am. Do you want to do the wedding night stuff tomorrow and get some sleep? There's no rush…"

Anna easily agreed to that suggestion with surprisingly little disappointment.

The next morning Anna woke up to the smell of ham and eggs from the kitchen, Kristoff making breakfast since he normally arose earlier than she did. She lazily stretched out for a while and before she moved to get up, Kristoff came into their bedroom with the food.

"So… do you want to eat first or… you know?" Kristoff gestured between them, his hand moving back and forth, the awkwardness making his meaning clear. Anna hesitated, looking back and forth at her husband and then at the tempting tray of breakfast in his hand…

"Um… can we eat? Not that I don't want to – uh – but the food's going to get cold and we'll still be here anyways - ?"

Smiling affectionately, Kristoff set the tray down between them, and they ate on the bed. When they were finished, he moved the tray with its empty plates onto the floor next to the bed.

"So… what now?" Of course, Anna was no virgin, but the nervous tremor in her voice sure made her sound like one in that moment, which didn't surprise Kristoff in the least (as he still thought she was one).

"How about we start with a kiss?" Kristoff suggested.

They did so, and it proved to be not unpleasant for either of them. Kristoff wasn't quite the same as Elsa, but Anna could close her eyes, ignore the bulkier size of Kristoff's arms around her and the rougher texture of his face and hands, and almost imagine Elsa being there instead.

They pulled apart and both opened their eyes again, staring into each other's eyes.

"So… we should probably take these off, then?"

Kristoff nodded in agreement. They shed their few nightclothes, tossing them to the foot of the bed. Kristoff gently laid Anna down on the bed and crawled over her, then closed his eyes and felt his way along her body, applying gentle kisses from her jawline all the way down her body to her sensitive parts. She lay back and closed her eyes, pretending. At first his rough and chapped lips spoiled the illusion for her, but once he began using his tongue, things got a lot better. Even if he wasn't her true love, he was an attentive and considerate lover, and actually did bring her to an orgasm with his mouth before finally flipping her over on the bed and thrusting into her from behind.

The months went by, and they settled into a routine. Kristoff was frequently away due to the ice business, but always endeavored to spend at least every other week at home. He loved his work, and was always excited for his next ice-harvesting trip by the end of his weeklong stay at home. Anna was quite happy with this arrangement, and truthfully preferred those weeks when Kristoff was up on the mountains, since she could sleep over with Elsa for those nights. In any case, while he was home, Kristoff never failed to fulfill his marital duties whenever Anna was up to it, and he always made sure she came before he did. But it just wasn't the same; no one could ever replace Elsa.

Elsa always seemed to be rougher and more possessive with Anna on the day after Kristoff did his duty as a husband. Anna noticed this pattern within a few months, but never mentioned it to Elsa. Instead, she used it as extra motivation to keep trying for heirs with Kristoff. The thrill of keeping a secret from both of her lovers almost compensated for the fact that she was knowingly married to the wrong one for the sake of her royal responsibilities. It never occurred to Anna that her dutiful husband might have a secret of his own…

Things went well until their one-year anniversary.

Anna normally spent her days with Elsa, being "the Queen's right hand," only returning to Kristoff's house for dinner (which she usually brought with her from the palace kitchens, a treat for Kristoff after his delivery rounds across town). But on this day, at Elsa's insistence, Anna went home to her husband early – bearing Elsa's anniversary present for the couple: an intricately carved set of animated ice figurines depicting Anna and Kristoff ice-skating together, holding hands. Kristoff loved ice, especially Elsa's ice sculptures and carvings, and Elsa often regretted that he could never be allowed to know just how much she had to thank him for.

Thus, Anna strolled into the cozy little house an hour earlier than originally planned, with Elsa's gift in their cloth bag, ready to surprise Kristoff. His sled was parked right outside the door, chained to its post, so Anna knew he must have gotten home before she did. He had promised to try to be early for their anniversary.

After checking all the rooms in their house, Anna decided that Kristoff must be in the backyard or in the stables with Sven, as he often was. So she proceeded out the back door, gave a quick glance at the yard (no Kristoff) and then turned and knocked on the stables door. "Kristoff? I'm home!" No answer.

The door was very thick wood, though, and more than once she'd found Kristoff napping in the straw with Sven, not having heard her knock. So Anna pushed open the door…

…and froze at the sight of Kristoff, naked and sweaty, gyrating behind Sven as he thrust into the reindeer's hindquarters and grunted in pleasure. The same sound she had often heard when he took her from behind and filled her with his seed…

Evidently neither Sven nor Kristoff had heard her knock, as they both froze in mid-thrust upon looking up and seeing Anna, both of their expressions morphing from pleasure to horror at being discovered.

Anna stood in shock as she slowly put two and two together – Kristoff was always excited to go on his weeklong ice-harvesting trips, _alone with Sven_ – suddenly it made terrible sense why Kristoff always favored the doggy-style position in bed – and then she fought back a suddenly rising tide of disgust welling up in her abdomen and crossed her legs unconsciously and dropped the satchel in her hand as she realized that the part of her husband that had been inside her had also been inside the reindeer's…

At least Kristoff had always been considerate and taken a bath before getting in bed with her, but still –

Anna squeezed her eyes shut with all her might, and then counted to ten, praying that it was just a bad dream or something…

When she opened her eyes again, Sven had begun to smile, even though Kristoff was still frozen in horror – the reindeer dipped his head, bowing low as he looked up at Anna with a seductive expression, beckoning her forward with one front hoof –

And that's when Anna screamed and ran faster than she ever had in her life.

In a blind panic she ran, the horrible vision burned into her eyelids every time she blinked, not even thinking as she ran out of the house, and down the street, and back into the palace (the guards stepping aside for her with slightly puzzled looks) and through the great hall and up the stairs and down the hallway as servants scrambled out of the panicked princess's way. She skidded to a stop in front of Elsa's study and barged in, her sister jumping up from her chair in surprise and hurrying around the desk with a concerned expression.

Anna dashed into Elsa's arms and almost bowled her over, knocking her back against the desk and crushing her into a giant hug as she pleaded into Elsa's ear. "Elsa. Please make me forget what I just saw…"

Naturally, Elsa's first reaction was worry. "Anna! What's the matter? What did you see—mmph!" She was interrupted by Anna pulling her into a searing kiss, staring into her eyes with a pleading expression. Elsa felt her body responding to her true love's presence, but…

"Anna? Please, what happened?"

Anna completely ignored the question, desperately tearing at Elsa's dress and grinding against her as she begged in gasps. "Please… distract me…"

That was when Elsa understood what exactly Anna needed from her. She gulped once and nodded. "Come on, let's move to the bedroom," she said, pushing Anna back just enough to grab her arm and lead her the short distance down their hall to their room.

The moment the door was shut Anna pushed Elsa against the door and ripped her dress open with one pull while crashing their lips together again. Elsa quickly set to work pleasing Anna in all the ways she knew how as they quickly shed their clothing on the way to the bed.

Meanwhile…

A hastily-dressed Kristoff burst through the palace gates into the courtyard, the guards stepping aside for their frazzled prince just as they had for the frantic princess a short while earlier. He barely saw them, his mind filled with the need to apologize to Anna and beg forgiveness. He'd always known he wasn't Anna's true love, and she wasn't his either, but she was still his friend and wife, and he had failed to protect her from the upsetting knowledge of his real true love. He was at fault, so now it was his job to rush after her and calm her down as soon as possible… hopefully before she could run to Elsa and bring her icy wrath down upon him.

Kristoff knew there was only one other person than himself that Anna would ever run to after such an upsetting discovery, especially when he was the cause of it. If he wasn't fast enough to apologize to Anna before she told Elsa, his only chance of survival would be to gain Anna's forgiveness and hope she could talk Elsa down from her inevitable (and justified) rage. Kristoff's lungs were burning and his heart was hurting from the exertion, but he pushed on. The two sisters were his only friends aside from Sven. He couldn't lose them both.

Dashing into the main hall, Kristoff called out to the first servant he saw as he ran up the stairs. "Have you seen Anna?" "Yes Your Highness, she went that way!" "Thanks!" And Kristoff bolted up the stairs as the royal household continued to wonder what was happening, though they all went about their duties with impeccable responsibility. Whatever had happened was between the Prince and the Princess, and none of their business unless they were told otherwise.

"Have you seen Anna?" "Yes, she went with the Queen to her room." "Thank you!"

Moments later, Kristoff threw open Elsa's door. "Anna, I'm sorry!" he started to say loudly, ready to prostrate himself before the two royals…

But his apology trailed off as he was met with the sight of Anna naked and writhing on the bed while Elsa's fingers pumped in and out of her and she let out a moan of pleasure more intense than any he'd ever been able to draw from her… which trailed off awkwardly as she looked over, in the throes of her orgasm, and saw him in the open doorway.

Time seemed to stand still as the three royals gawked at each other.

* * *

_Author's notes:_

Hey, it's canon, the movie says so!

Or at least, this is the obvious result of taking everything literally.  
_(Edit: No condemnation implied; I'm just saying what is, not whether it's right or wrong…)_

_Canonical support for Elsa/Anna since it's not directly stated in the movie: elsannaheadcanons tumblr com/post/78785783046/an-au-of-a-sorts-only-not_


	2. The 'Nightmare'

In time, Princess Anna and Prince Kristoff were blessed with twins – a boy and a girl. One month later, Queen Elsa brought her nephew and niece to their first royal council meeting. The baby boy vomited all over the Minister of Trade just as the meeting was about to begin, delaying their start time by a good 45 minutes. Nevertheless, a male heir was always preferred to a female one, and so young Prince Olaf was named heir to the throne over his twin sister, Princess Margaret.

As the years went by, however, some councilors were sometimes overheard second-guessing that choice. Prince Olaf grew up to be a mischievous goofball and a major source of headaches for the servants, while Princess Margaret seemed to take after her aunt Elsa and become a perfect royal princess, often dragging her brother to their shared lessons with the royal tutors. He would listen to no one except his twin, and the running joke in the royal household was that Margaret was the true heir because she was the only one who could keep her brother under control.

Kristoff had always felt ill at ease with palace life, but for the sake of the children's safety, agreed that their entire family should move into the castle. Days after the children were born, Kristoff moved into Anna's former room, which was now to be their shared room as husband and wife (it no longer mattered whether they did anything, as the heirs had been produced). A special barn was built for Sven adjoining the royal stables.

And for over a decade, it seemed that life in Arendelle Castle was perfect. Elsa sat with her council and her papers every day, Kristoff ran the ice business, the royal children went through their training, and Anna mostly shadowed Elsa as chief advisor most of the time, except when she went to train with the guards for an hour each afternoon and served as the chief party planner for balls or other events to be hosted at the palace. Kristoff, when he could, came home in time to spend time with the children in the afternoon. Their family time went from dinner until bedtime. They tucked in the children together; Aunt Elsa was virtually a third parent to her niece and nephew, although when little Olaf asked whether he should call her 'mommy' instead of 'auntie' they had to tell him otherwise. Then, to keep up appearances, Anna and Kristoff would retire to her former room, now their shared room.

And at least every other week, Kristoff and Sven would be up in the mountains, and instead of retiring to the empty bed in her own room, Anna would go to Elsa's room where they could finally, finally be more than sisters for the rest of the night.

They could be together for as long as ten nights at a time before Kristoff returned, and their façade of normalcy with him.

For sixteen years Arendelle prospered and the royal family lived happily together. But everything came crashing down one day when Elsa was kept in her office later than usual by some last-minute emergency dispatches. After dealing with the important messages, Elsa proceeded towards her bedroom. But she was only halfway down the long corridor when she passed by her nephew's room and heard some suspicious moaning through the door…

Teenaged Prince Olaf, it would seem, had discovered a more grown-up way to misbehave. The voice that seeped through his door was distinctly female, and could not possibly be his own.

This made Elsa angry; for it meant that her nephew had lied both to her and to his parents, having denied being particularly interested in any girls (or boys, for that matter), even though they had often reassured the young prince that he was free to love whomever he wished. It was only for purposes of diplomacy that they needed to know, so as to plan for the politics of marrying a foreign princess.

"So much for that," Elsa thought to herself, knowing they had no foreign dignitaries visiting at the moment; this meant Olaf's secret lover must be from their own household, most likely one of the servant girls. Perhaps he was destined to marry a commoner like his mother had… Not that that was a bad thing; it was the sneaking around that was behavior unfit for a prince, especially at his young age.

Quietly, Elsa tried the door; it was locked. It was only mildly comforting to know that Olaf had at least taken that most basic precaution. As much as she normally respected her heir's privacy, she would have to break it this time, as she needed to know who his lover was and whether she might pose a threat – was she really in love with the crown prince, or just a female Hans trying to marry into royalty? Who was the seducer in this case? The Queen had to know, it was her duty to worry about such matters. Elsa spread a sheet of ice from her hand, feeling it as an extension of herself, seeping it through the crack of the door to reach the doorknob on the other side and unlock it. Then, quietly, slowly, she turned the knob and opened it a crack.

Young Prince Olaf lay on his bed, being ridden by his strawberry-blonde lover, both of them oblivious to the door creaking open (the slight noise covered by their cries of pleasure) or to the alert blue eye peeking in through the crack. The flickering of embers in the fireplace obscured the girl's identity from Elsa's vision, but it was clear enough what they were doing.

Having seen enough to confirm her suspicions, Elsa averted her eyes and knocked loudly on the door to let the young couple know they'd been caught. It didn't work. They were so wrapped up in each other that they didn't even hear the knocks. Elsa wondered if they would all look back on this moment with amusement years later. She almost felt sorry having to interrupt her nephew from something obviously so enjoyable, but she had to; it was for their own safety.

"Olaf!" she yelled, finally getting the teenagers' attention. Simultaneous gasps floated out and the creaking of their bed ground to a halt. "Stop that and get dressed right now! Tell me when you're decent." There was a moment of silence. "Same for your, uh, companion. And don't try to hide her!"

Elsa shut the door and waited. A few minutes later, suspicious at the lack of noise, she knocked again. "Coming, auntie!" was her nephew's cheerful reply through the door, followed by a muffled giggle from his lover (it was a moment before Elsa realized what the girl must have been giggling about, whereupon she buried her face in her hands in mixed frustration and amusement).

"Alright, you can come in," Olaf called out, and Elsa entered to see Olaf sitting on the side of the bed calmly, face still flushed from exertion but otherwise looking ready for bed in his nightshirt and underpants. There was a person-sized lump in the covers on the bed behind him.

"Aww, auntie," pleaded the young prince, "it was all my fault being too skillful in love, please leave her out of this?" Elsa gave him a look, trying to be stern and unamused by her nephew's arrogant air. "Yes, I know, you're concerned about people being after me for the throne, but she isn't, I promise." Elsa maintained her expression and waited for him to spill.

"Alright, fine," Olaf sighed, "but I need you to promise me something… don't freak out, okay?" Naturally, this had the opposite effect of setting Elsa on edge, but she took a deep breath and nodded. Olaf tried to soften the blow, "We both know this has to stay a secret, and you're the only one who knows…" Seeing the impatient look on his aunt's face, the prince decided not to put off the moment any longer. "Alright, you can come out now," he said, addressing his lover.

The lump on the bed shifted, the covers came off, and out popped the mystery girl in her nightshirt, hair tousled and face flushed from their earlier activities, now sitting up and sheepishly waving to her queen, blushing in embarrassment.

Queen Elsa stared back in shock and horror at the face of her own niece, Princess Margaret.

The books had always said twins tended to share an especially strong sibling bond, but… not like this. Elsa was certain, this was not how things were supposed to happen…

Elsa had always thought her unusual (unnatural, the small voice in the back of her head still whispered) relationship with her sister only came about because of the extreme isolation they'd been subjected to as children. (Well, also because Elsa's powers refused to stay under control unless she gave in to her desires, but then it was the isolation that had probably caused those desires in the first place.) She and Anna had agreed, along with Kristoff, that they would do things differently for their children. They had always encouraged Olaf and Margaret to spend time together as siblings, not that the twins had ever needed any such encouragement, they seemed to take to each other naturally and effortlessly. They routinely opened the castle for social events as often as possible, making sure their children got to meet plenty of people from outside under relatively safe conditions. The young prince and princess had always seemed like a perfectly close pair of siblings, exactly what Elsa and Anna had wished for during their terrible years apart, and nothing had ever hinted otherwise, until now. They had been a seemingly perfect family… but clearly they weren't.

Elsa thought back over the last sixteen years, scrutinizing every detail, searching in vain for any explanation, any sign in hindsight. She had been careful, even paranoid in Anna's opinion, she had insisted they keep their secret from the children lest they follow their elders' sinful example. Where had they gone wrong with raising their heirs?

The floor and walls on Elsa's side of the room were now covered with a thin sheet of ice that vacillated between expanding and retracting, as Elsa kept her control by an extreme effort. Only her past two decades of practice with focusing on loving thoughts to control her magic had allowed her to restrain the full-scale blizzard that seemed ready to explode out of her anxiously thumping heart with every beat.

Olaf's soothing voice brought Elsa back to the present. "Aunt Elsa, it wasn't your fault," he said, seemingly reading her mind. "You didn't do anything wrong. It's nothing you, or Mom, or Dad did."

Elsa took a few deep breaths and managed to get enough words out to convey what she needed to know. "H-how long?"

"About a month and a half," said Olaf.

Elsa tried to be relieved that they hadn't been doing this for that long.

"_Does anyone else know_?"

The ice advanced another foot up the wall, despite Elsa's best effort to remain calm.

"Only you," was Olaf's answer, and the edges of the ice rapidly receded by six inches. But not all the way; Elsa felt she still had some reason to be nervous about this subject.

"I heard you two _through the door_, Olaf. How do you know no one else knows?"

Olaf shrugged nonchalantly, though Elsa knew him well enough to tell she'd driven her point home. "Oops, I guess… well, I mean, I doubt the night patrol would care who I'm seducing, I mean it hasn't been that long, and even if somebody heard us, we're pretty sure they don't know who the girl is…"

"I'm sorry I was too loud," added Margaret, who'd been silent up to this point, "we'll, uh, figure out something to soundproof the door better, or something…"

"Point is, it won't happen again," said Olaf, "we, um, promise?" Even as he spoke, though, he knew Elsa would probably see through his attempted clever wording, which she did. He was only promising not to get caught. He wasn't promising not to do it again.

"_Olaf._"

"Ugh, I know, but can we talk about this in the morning? We've done bad, I know, I know, but it's late…"

Elsa buried her face in her palms, exasperated. But, despite her urge to put a stop to the whole thing right away, Elsa managed to keep just enough rationality to see that perhaps it would be best to handle this difficult talk in the morning. She forced herself to exhale deeply, and then breathe in just as deeply. "Fine. We'll talk after breakfast."

Now more exhausted than ever from her long day, Elsa turned to leave, suddenly realizing something as she did so. The couple – no, she refused to think of them as a couple – her niece and nephew were still sitting in the exact same position, not moving an inch as she left. She turned back with another frustrated sigh.

"Margaret. Go to your room."

The gig was up. The prince and princess turned to each other with a significant look, obviously realizing they would not be getting one more round in tonight. In unison they gave Elsa a defiant glare and then turned to each other and kissed passionately, one last show of disobedience, before they separated for the night and assumed the blank expressions of a prince and princess doing their joyless duty as their queen commanded.

For Elsa, there was no pleasure in having foiled their not-so-subtle scheme, only the heartbreak of once again bringing pain to those she loved. It was for their own good, she told herself, but she knew all too well how the teenagers must have felt in that moment. Still, on the way back to her own room, Elsa iced over both teenagers' bedroom doors with enough ice not to melt until near sunrise, hating herself as she did so. Upon reaching her room, she collapsed into her bed and slept uneasily until dawn.

In her old nightmares from years past, which now came only rarely, she saw the mobs coming for herself and Anna. But now they came for the children…

* * *

By breakfast the next morning Elsa was no longer sure if her nightmarish experience in her nephew's room the previous night had even been real. Thanks to her rough night, Elsa was the last member of their family to arrive in the dining hall, rather than first as she usually was. Anna and Kristoff were halfway finished, being up early since Kristoff was scheduled to begin another trip to the mountains this day, and Olaf and Margaret sat to their right, acting completely normal as if nothing had happened. Elsa wondered if she had dreamed the entire sequence of unsettling events the night before.

"Good morning, Aunt Elsa!" said Margaret, polite as always.

"Morning, auntie!" chirped Olaf, cheery as usual.

"Elsa! Are you alright?" Anna could always be counted on to notice when something was wrong.

Elsa scrutinized the two teenaged royals, but they betrayed no reaction, both looking down at their plates with their mouths full.

"I- I'm fine." Elsa answered out of habit. Anna raised an eyebrow, well aware of Elsa's habit of claiming she was fine when she was obviously not. Elsa sent back an apologetic look. "I'll tell you after breakfast?" Anna nodded.

Soon enough, Olaf noticed Elsa's continued scrutiny. "Auntie, is something the matter?" he asked innocently. Elsa still couldn't decide if she really had been dreaming last night or whether the children were pretending in an attempt to throw her off. She decided her best chance was to play along.

"Sorry, I'm not feeling well today," she said. "Anna, inform me if anything urgent arises at the council. Safe journeys, Kristoff." Elsa stood from the table, leaving most of her breakfast behind as she went off to rest.

Before going to her room, though, she made a detour to the library and brought some books back to her bed. She needed to do some research, just in case.

When Elsa didn't show up for lunch, Anna came up to her room with a tray, as Elsa knew she would.

"Anna, earlier this morning… when you asked me…"

"Yes, what was it?"

Elsa explained the details of her possibly-not-a-dream/memory of what had happened the previous night.

"Oh my god, that's crazy! I never noticed… erm, do you think our kids are, you know, …? Like for real, I mean."

"I don't know, Anna. I'm scared… what if they are?"

"Yeah, what if? Aren't we doing the same exact thing?"

"Anna, you know this is different."

"Is it?"

"We were separated for so long as children… that we – kind of – in a way, we weren't sisters anymore. My powers probably wouldn't have acted up if we hadn't been cut off from each other all those years… and when we go before God for our judgment day we can at least say that we had no choice, because our people would have frozen to death had we not acted on these feelings… but Olaf and Margaret don't have that excuse. We can't let that happen to them, Anna."

"No, of course we can't. But, Elsa, why would they? We didn't do what our parents did. They've grown up as brother and sister, all this time. I mean, they're not like us, right? I'm sure they'll be fine."

"I hope you're right, Anna. It's just, it was so vivid!"

"If we catch them doing something, we'll deal with it. But let's not worry until we have something to worry about, right?"

"I'm going to stay up just a little tonight," said Elsa, determinedly. "We have to know for sure."

* * *

_Earlier that morning before Elsa came to breakfast…_

Margaret had been pacing her room half an hour before the sunrise that day, anxiously trying every few minutes to open the door with all her strength. Finally when the ice melted enough so that she was able to break through it, she dashed over to Olaf's door and knocked. With impeccable timing, he was just about to crack his door open, which he at last did.

"Olaf, what do we do?" Uncharacteristically, the usually calm princess let her worries show.

Olaf grinned slyly. "You know how Aunt Elsa used to have nightmares? Mom had to comfort her a lot when they were younger?"

Margaret nodded.

"Well," said Olaf, "given what we know, I'd bet we just gave her a pretty rough night last night."

Margaret winced at that, still feeling guilty about causing their poor aunt more emotional turmoil. "I know," she said. "We can't – I wish we could help her somehow…"

"So," Olaf continued, "I'm thinking we act like nothing happened. If we're lucky, there's a slim hope Auntie might think it was just a nightmare, and then we just need to be more careful from now on. Hopefully she'll feel better about it if we can just keep her convinced it wasn't real."

"Oh my god, Olaf, you're terrible," said Margaret, though she was amused. "Alright."

Hand in hand, the royal twins walked off to breakfast, away from the slowly drying puddles of water outside their doors.

"We are so going to hell for this," muttered Margaret, shaking her head.

"I guess so," Olaf agreed, "but what else are we supposed to do?"

"Can't fight true love…"

"…you can only hide it," they finished together, just before Olaf pulled open the door to the dining hall.

"Hi mom! Hi dad!"

And the show was on.


	3. The Blow-Up

That night, instead of going to bed as usual, Elsa and Anna stood watch several meters down the hallway from the prince's and princess's bedrooms, peeking around a corner. Shortly before midnight, Margaret's door swung open, and the princess calmly walked out in her nightgown, only pausing briefly upon turning to face them. She then walked directly towards them.

As she approached, Elsa saw that her eyes were closed… her niece was sleepwalking! She walked right in front of Elsa, then Anna, and continued down the hall. By mutual agreement, the girl's concerned aunt and mother both quietly followed her as she went.

The princess walked all the way down to the kitchens where she filled a glass with water and then returned to her room with Elsa and Anna following behind her the entire way.

The same thing happened the next night, but then the following night nothing. Elsa and Anna argued vociferously over Elsa's insistence on watching for a fourth straight night, and finally the younger prevailed upon the elder to stop being so paranoid. Only later would Elsa and Anna find out that their clever niece had been wide awake every time she'd gone out "sleepwalking."

Three times during that week, Elsa awoke in terror and Anna held and soothed her back to sleep, just as they had done for years after Elsa's coronation. Elsa did her best to convince herself that it was all in her head, and the royal heirs did their best to maintain that illusion, but somehow, the queen's subconscious knew exactly what she had seen and refused to dismiss the idea so easily.

Things gradually settled back to normal, and the following week Elsa slept through the night for three nights in a row. But then the delicate balance was upended by the most routine of events.

Kristoff and Sven returned from their latest harvesting trip, and once again Elsa had to sleep alone.

So that night, when Elsa bolted awake yet again, there was no Anna by her side to chase away the visions of her beloved prince and princess hanging lifelessly from crosses in the town square. Unable to close her eyes again with those frightful sights seemingly imprinted behind her eyelids, Elsa decided there was only one thing to do: she would take a walk, and reassure herself that everyone else was safe in their beds.

And that was how, at one o'clock in the morning, Elsa quietly opened her nephew's bedroom door and panicked to find the bed empty.

Heart pounding in trepidation, unsure what she should be more afraid of, Elsa crossed the hallway and quietly slipped open her niece's locked bedroom door using her ice magic, and felt the door almost immediately jam on something that felt like cloth stuck under the edge…

Suddenly her niece's words from ten nights ago came rushing back with blinding clarity…

_"We'll figure out something to soundproof the door better…"_

Suddenly certain that she hadn't been dreaming her heart-wrenching discovery ten nights ago after all, and desperate to prevent her nightmares coming true, Elsa forced the door open a few more feet and entered the room. Olaf and Margaret lay entwined facing each other on the bed, obviously naked though their lower halves were under the covers, both of them sweaty and profoundly satisfied.

The draft of freezing-cold air that accompanied Elsa into the room woke both teenagers from their blissful slumber. They each instinctively reached down with one hand and together pulled the covers over themselves as they opened their eyes. And then they noticed their queen watching them unhappily from the doorway. Margaret looked mortified, while Olaf looked resigned.

"Get dressed and then we'll talk," said Elsa, her tone clearly making it an order. The two teenagers hurriedly put on their nightclothes. Elsa turned her back to them until the rustling of cloth had stopped.

Olaf and Margaret sat up, leaning back against the headboard, his right hand holding her left hand under the covers, awaiting their judgment together.

"What do you have to say for yourselves?"

There was really nothing they could say, but the yellow-haired boy prince didn't miss a beat as he snapped back with all the righteous incredulity in the world.

"What are _you_ doing here?"

In different circumstances, Elsa would have been pleased with Olaf's poise and bluster. She had trained her heir well, at least in this aspect… She could almost hear his unspoken retorts in her mind as he gazed up at her indignantly. _We locked the door. We soundproofed it. How were we supposed to know you were going to barge in?_ To be fair, though, his surprise was genuine; there was no way he could have expected to be caught this time.

"I know what I saw the other night."

Prince and princess stubbornly kept their royal poker faces, giving away nothing. Elsa pushed down the small feeling of pride at how well they'd learned the control she taught them, filing it away for later. There was a much more important issue to deal with at the moment.

"What am I doing here, you ask? I couldn't sleep." Elsa took a deep breath and steeled herself to face her nightmare one more time. The twins could tell where this was going and Elsa knew she was hitting a chord. "Every time I closed my eyes, I saw you… both of you, crucified, in the town square, because of… _this._"

She didn't have to specify. Olaf and Margaret were obviously crestfallen and though it brought Elsa much pain as well, she knew this was the only way they would do what needed to be done.

"I had to come and see you, to make sure you were okay, to tell myself this was just a dream… and," Elsa sighed heavily, "you know the rest."

Olaf and Margaret bore the ashamed expressions of eight-year-old children who had just been caught stealing cookies from the kitchen.

"Margaret… Were you _really_ sleepwalking that night?"

The strawberry blonde princess shook her head in defeat, admitting her ruse.

"Thank you," said Elsa, "now… let's try this again… What do you have to say for yourselves?"

There was a pause, then Olaf spoke up. "We're sorry. We wanted to protect you from this, and we failed."

Elsa nodded knowingly, inviting him to continue.

"You're still the only one who knows," he added after a moment, "and we promise to keep it…that…way?" The young prince trailed off questioningly as it was obvious that his dear aunt wasn't buying it…

Elsa wanted to groan in frustration. The twins knew what she wanted to hear, she was quite sure…

"And?" she prompted them again.

"Um… it's… true… love…?"

Wrong answer.

"This isn't funny, Olaf."

"But we really do love each other. I mean – what are we supposed to…"

Elsa's parental frustration began to change back to nervousness as she realized her nephew was actually serious about his feelings.

"This has to stop," she said in the firmest tone she could muster. To her consternation, the two teenagers showed no sign of accepting this fact. "You _have_ to marry and have children, and not with each other…" Elsa was straining to keep the quiver out of her voice while still holding back the ice patch under her feet. "…this is _wrong_," Elsa hesitated, almost afraid to say what she had to say next. "…you do know that, don't you?"

The answer to that was a foregone conclusion after 16 years of a proper royal upbringing – but one would never have guessed it watching Olaf ask, in the most innocent and confused tone imaginable, "But how can true love ever be wrong?"

The boy prince was amazingly unruffled as his beloved aunt virtually broke down in front of him. Too agitated to appreciate how cute her nephew was being at that moment, Elsa spoke in anger, rooted in fear. "This isn't true love, can't you see? This is not how brothers and sisters love each other!"

Olaf clearly wanted to say something lighthearted again, but Margaret nudged him with an elbow. "Olaf, be serious," she admonished. The mischievous prince seemed to instantly snap out of his childish look, taking on a more mature air matching his age.

"Sorry," he apologized to his sister and then turned back to the queen. "Aunt Elsa, I know we're supposed to find a good prince or princess to marry. We already got to meet some at that ball a few months ago. It's just…"

The young prince thought for a moment, finding the appropriate words. "I met those princesses, I talked to them, I danced with them… they were nice, they just didn't, you know, make any impression on me. After I saw Margaret in that flowing velvet thing they made for her… I actually almost didn't recognize her from behind, I went up to her thinking she was another of the princesses I hadn't met yet. I can't really explain it, I'd always thought of her as a sister and a best friend but I literally never realized Margaret was a princess too, not until that day. And since then she's been just another princess in the parade of suitors, and I haven't been able to see her as anything else – "

Elsa seemed to become more worried the more Olaf said, and the always-observant prince could not have missed the drop in temperature or the growing sheet of ice climbing the wall behind her. Yet, in the back of his mind a nagging suspicion that he had carried for years was suddenly growing, though even he could only vaguely explain why Elsa's reaction to his heartfelt confession made him think so.

"No, please, you can't do this," Elsa seemed to beg no one in particular, as if pleading for some kind of divine intercession. The two teenagers looked on as she seemed to stand frozen in some terrible internal conflict.

At last Elsa faced her nephew and niece, with the resolve and self-loathing both evident in her expression, and laid down the law.

"I know we wanted you to grow up close, to be spared the torture which your mother and I went through… but this has gone _too far_. We _have_ to separate you now at least for a—"

"It won't work," Margaret suddenly spoke up, "and the more you try the worse it's going to get." Elsa's gaze flickered to her niece in surprise. The princess was almost never this assertive with her, she was usually very good at being a good girl and always so quick to please…

"Please don't," Olaf pleaded. Even the usually cheerful and quick-thinking prince seemed to have run out of witty responses and seemed, for once, rattled.

Evidently, the threat of impending separation was the one thing that could instantly break down the royal teenagers' usually impenetrable poise and self-control.

"It's for your own safety," Elsa insisted. "…your mortal souls!"

"You can't make us do this!" A frantic Prince Olaf was a very rare sight to behold and was usually a very bad sign…

"Yes, I can," Elsa said threateningly, "I'm still the queen and if you need a reminder –"

"But it's _true love!_" protested Margaret, her voice and inflection so much like Anna's own from two decades prior that it sent a dagger through Elsa's heart. Her knees went wobbly and only by sheer force of will and habit the queen managed to stay standing.

_Oh, Anna… what do you know about true love? _The memory still haunted Elsa even twenty years later, but Elsa reminded herself this was a different situation. The teenager in front of her now was not her Anna; it was her sister's daughter, whom she loved as her own. Young Margaret had inherited many of the things that Elsa loved about Anna, including her signature pout and her stubborn streak, the latter of which was on full display. The girl was a perfect princess when she was determined to be one, which was most of the time, but on the rare occasion when her royal front collapsed and her passion shined through she would become a spitting image of her mother.

"But it's—" Elsa started, and then stopped, realizing she couldn't say it. It was wrong, it was a sin, just like the love she shared with her own sister. Anna's children were hers too, and she was failing them; how could she steer them right when she herself had gone horribly wrong?

Suddenly, Elsa realized, or remembered that that being separated had done no good to herself or Anna – indeed it was probably exactly what had set them on the twisted path of dark secrets they had precariously treaded for the last two decades. _What am I doing!? _She mentally kicked herself. _I'm just making it worse!_ Her niece was right, separating them now would only hurt them, or even worsen their inappropriate feelings. Still unwilling to see what was in front of her face, Elsa grasped desperately at the one straw that might allow things to return to the way they were; to bring their family back to that happy time before any of the last two weeks' events.

"We won't keep you apart," she conceded, "in fact, we're just going to pretend this night never happened. But you can't do this anymore, and you're going to control your feelings like I know you're both capable of. I know nights have been especially hard for you, but I can help you with that…"

Both teenagers blanched at that, remembering all too well how Elsa had trapped them in their rooms, alone, after the first time they'd been caught…

"Aww, come on!" Olaf whined. "You think we don't know what you and Mom do at night when Dad's out harvesting?"

The daring young prince regretted his words the moment he saw his aunt's reaction, even though it proved his long-buried suspicions correct. Elsa's mouth fell open in shock and absolute _terror_ – the twins looked at each other in trepidation, for they had never in their lives seen their calm and composed Aunt Elsa look so frightened – though the shiver that ran through them was probably also from the cold; the already-cold temperature of the room had instantly dropped to bone-chilling and a thin layer of frost seemed to snap into existence on every surface in the room. The very next moment Elsa fled from the room as if running for her very life, slamming the now ice-encrusted door behind her.

The remaining snowflakes still in the air fell onto whatever was below, coating the floor, desk, nightstand, and the bed, with those landing on Olaf and Margaret quickly melting from their body heat, the source of the snowflakes having departed precipitously.

"Oops…" Olaf said guiltily, and the room was silent.

* * *

Elsa had just barely made it out into the hallway and pulled the door shut behind her before the massive eruption of ice began to explode out of her chest. Unable to control or even shape the outburst, Elsa could only watch helplessly as the jets of ice shot forward out of her chest in an expanding arc, which quickly grew until the ice was blasting out through the sides of her ribcage as well, and then around to her back. When it was finally over, the entire hallway was coated from floor to ceiling with solid ice, and long patches of thick clear ice spikes tinged with red magical glow protruded from both walls all the way down the hallway, centered along the line where the magic had actually struck the walls.

Several meters down the hallway in one of the rooms, at that very moment, Anna startled awake from a deep slumber with an inexplicable need to make sure her sister was okay. She quietly drew back the covers, doing her best not to disturb Kristoff as he gently snored beside her.

To Elsa's great relief, there was no one in the hallway at this ungodly hour. It was only the third time in her life that she had lost her control so completely. Fortunately, she had recognized the signs, felt the sensation of her heart bursting and the tsunami forcing its way through her ribcage – the memory of accidentally freezing her sister's heart still painfully clear 20 years later – and so she'd known what was happening and managed to get clear in the nick of time.

Breathing heavily, Elsa sagged against the thickly iced wall just behind her and tried to regain her wits to deal with the revelation that had set off her panic attack in the first place. Somehow, despite her vigilance, her nephew had discovered her secret. There were now suddenly two deadly skeletons in the royal family's closet…

Only a moment later, another door was wrenched open several meters down the hall. "Elsa!"

Anna immediately stepped out onto the ice-covered hallway floor, heedless of the cold against her bare feet or the freezing air that penetrated her nightgown, looking for Elsa. In the dim red glow of the ice from Elsa's own heart, the torches along the walls having been extinguished and iced over, Elsa's usual platinum-white hair stood out and her ice dress sparkled in the darkness. _"Elsa!"_

Elsa froze in renewed panic at the sound of Anna's shout and almost fled again, unsure if there was any more magic waiting to burst out of her, but managed to remind herself that Anna was exactly what she needed for that, and stopped herself from moving. Anna skidded and slipped over the icy floor towards her like a madwoman, oblivious to anything except the need to reach Elsa as quickly as possible and give her a badly needed hug. Elsa desperately clung to her sister's warmth, crying in both relief and worry.

"Shhh. It's okay, Elsa…" Anna whispered into her ear.

Just then, the ice coating the door next to them crackled and popped, and then broke off, bits falling onto the ground as the door was forcibly pulled open. "We're sorry!" Olaf's frantic voice preceded him out of the room, then he emerged out a moment later, followed by Margaret. "Aunt Elsa, we're so sorry! We would never use that against you, no matter what you did to us…"

With Elsa's recent nightmares still fresh in her mind, Anna looked at her children and began to put two and two together. "Oh my God, Elsa, did you just…" Elsa nodded miserably. "…So they're really… together?" Another nod.

"They _know_, Anna." Didn't matter how quietly Elsa whimpered; Anna heard, and her eyes went wide, she knew exactly what Elsa meant. Their own secret had finally been discovered. "How did they…"

"We've polluted them," Elsa wailed, crying into Anna's shoulder in shame.

"We honestly didn't know!" Olaf explained earnestly. "I've been wondering ever since I realized how I felt about Margaret, but we never actually saw any evidence. We didn't know you were doing it, I swear! I watched you for months and never saw anything that could give you away, you hid it so well. I just blurted it out just now because we were both desperate and thought we were going to lose each other – it was our last slim hope – I was totally guessing, total shot in the dark until I saw how you reacted, and… we're sorry…"

"The whole past two weeks is our fault," Margaret sniffled, "and we know you love us and we love you, and we never wanted any of this to happen and we're sorry…"

Keeping hold of Elsa in her arms, Anna turned her head and looked at her children with an exasperated but still loving expression. "You little stinkers… if you would've been so honest two weeks ago! We could've been doing this somewhere nice and comfortable…"

The two teenagers gave her a very skeptical look.

"I don't know, mom," Olaf said, "something tells me that 'nice and comfortable' place would've stopped being so nice and comfortable once we got into this discussion, don't you think?" He looked pointedly at the ice surrounding them.

"No it wouldn't have! Elsa's powers never act up if I'm with her. That's why you two should've told me about these feelings you were developing, and let me handle it with Elsa instead of just hiding them and doing all this secret stuff!"

The teens looked pointedly at Elsa, who was still quietly sobbing in Anna's embrace, and then back to Anna, the unspoken accusation evident. _Secrets like yours, you mean?_

"Yes," Anna retorted, "Elsa has this magic that will freeze the whole world if I'm not there to calm her down. What's _your_ excuse?"

Olaf had to have inherited his snarkiness from somewhere, after all.

"With all due respect, mother," said Margaret, "haven't you always taught us that true love is the most powerful magic of all?"

Anna made a groan of frustration. The kids knew all about the long-ago events of Elsa's coronation but were obviously distorting the message. "Sacrificing yourself for someone is _not_ the same as having sex with them!" Anna winced at how ridiculous her statement sounded, even to herself. "…Why do I even need to explain this to you?!"

"You don't, mother… it's just that love makes us do things we would normally never do. Things like sacrificing yourself, or…" It was clear enough what Margaret was too embarrassed to say out loud in her mother's presence.

All three of them were shivering by this point, but out of concern for Elsa's fragile emotional state, none of them said a word about it, instead stubbornly enduring the cold from the ice surrounding them.

Fortunately, they were saved by Kristoff's resonant voice from down the hall. "Anna? Elsa? What's going on out there?" Sleepy, but nevertheless awoken by the commotion and the cold air from the frozen hallway, Kristoff stood at the door of his and Anna's room, having thrown on a warm fur coat over his nightshirt.

"We're okay!" Anna shouted back. "We'll be over in just a moment!" She motioned to Olaf and Margaret, who obediently scurried over to Kristoff, and then gently disentangled herself from Elsa and led the unresisting queen by the hand, following them.

It had been some seventeen years since their last great awkward family discussion – back then, before their children had been born. And now they were overdue for another one.

"Alright, so, uh, Kristoff, we need to fill you in on some things…"


	4. The Truth

After some discussion it was decided that the time had come to introduce Olaf and Margaret to the trolls. Kristoff visited his adoptive family regularly as a side trip from ice harvesting, but Elsa and Anna had not seen them since their heirs were born. Since their guards could not be allowed to know the secret of the trolls, Elsa had wanted to wait until the children were of age and could defend themselves in the wilderness before taking them on the trip up the mountain.

But circumstances had changed, and the royal family was suddenly in urgent need of some advice from the "love experts." At age 16, Olaf and Margaret had both had achieved at least basic competence with sword and knife to deal with the wild predators on their route, and more importantly, were old enough to be absolutely trusted with the House of Aren's most treasured passed-down-the-generations secret – even though they could not be trusted with each other.

They were bringing no guards, so Elsa's abilities would make their trip through the wilderness much safer. Elsa was still in no condition to be apart from Anna for any length of time, and was clearly too tightly wound to let Kristoff take the children while she stayed behind with Anna. Thus, Kristoff was forced to stay behind to run the kingdom while the rest of the family traveled. He grumbled, but he was unfortunately the Prince Consort whether he liked it or not. Just as Anna would throw herself in front of a sword for those she loved, so Kristoff would throw himself in front of a stuffy royal council…

By sunrise they were all piled into Kristoff's sled with provisions for three days. By sunset they were threading their way between the hot steam vents of the Valley of the Living Rock. As darkness fell, they arrived in the center of the valley, where the trolls were waking up to another day.

"Queen Elsa! And Princess Anna. These must be your lovely children you've brought today. Prince Olaf, Princess Margaret, a great joy to finally meet you in person. I am Pabbie, of the Valley of the Living Rock, who are the eternal friends and allies of the House of Aren for as long as your line shall continue."

"Pleasure to meet your majesty," answered the teenagers in unison.

"Please call me Pabbie," said the old troll, who then turned to his supplicant. "Now, Queen Elsa, how may we be of service?"

"I – " the words caught in Elsa's throat, and she looked relieved when Anna cut in. "Elsa found our kids in bed together, um…" the trolls snickered as the kids in question both blushed slightly, "…and we were worried that – " this made Olaf whisper something to Margaret and then they were the ones snickering, "that it might cause some problems with marriage and continuing the family line, and also they might get sent to Hell because they don't have a good excuse like saving the whole kingdom and all that," Anna finished the whole sentence as if she'd been practicing it repeatedly and finally stopped to take a breath.

"I see," Pabbie said gravely. "I take it this was not the first time your children have mated?"

This had all four Arendellians blushing profusely as Anna answered with a nod.

"So then," said Pabbie, "is it that they wish to stop? Or that they wish to continue?"

"Um… well…" Anna struggled to find words for their situation, "…both?"

"Let us see what we can do," said Pabbie. "Let me tell you a story, Prince Olaf, Princess Margaret. Please, sit, make yourselves comfortable. Princess Anna, Queen Elsa, you too. Are you sitting comfortably? Good.

_"Once upon a time, there was a prince and a princess…"_

As Pabbie spoke, gesturing with his hands, the air above him danced with lights and shadows, the animations of two figures – a male and a female – following his story.

_"The prince was the elder brother and heir, the princess his younger sister by two years. They loved each other very much, as was expected of small children. But when they grew older, they learned of the other forms of love which are known to the race of man. There was the love they had always shared as brother and sister. There was the love which they held for their father and mother, the king and queen, who likewise loved them. And then, there was the love which they were each to share only with their future betrothed; the love between a husband and wife which was the most powerful of the three, the love that could create children from the loins of their parents._

_"It was always thought that these three forms of love were exclusive by nature, that between any two people only one form of love could exist. But the prince and the princess discovered that they were unlike the others of their kingdom; for they loved each other, not only as brother and sister, but also as husband and wife. Unfortunately, the laws of their people insisted that they could only love each other as brother and sister, and forbade them to marry and sire children._

_"The time was soon coming when the prince would come of age, and already his father the king was introducing him to princesses of other lands, in hopes that he would court one of them. He was becoming a handsome young man, and every one of his suitors was eager to bear his children. Yet the one princess he most fervently desired was forbidden to him, for she was his own younger sister._

_"The princess, for her part, was learning the arts of beauty from her mother, the queen, and was blessed with a gift in this regard. It seemed there would be no shortage of wealthy and powerful princes to seek her hand. Yet, she did not wish to be courted by any prince except the one who would never be allowed to court her."_

As Pabbie told the story, Olaf and Margaret looked at each other, both wondering if they were in fact the subjects of his story. Or had there been a previous prince and princess just like themselves? The troll's story had the siblings being two years apart in age, rather than twins. They both listened, with the seed of hope growing in their hearts.

Pabbie went on with the story. _"The prince and the princess resisted their suitors easily, but each other only with difficulty. As their bodies grew from children into adults, so their desires to mate grew each day, and one night they succumbed. But they awoke the next morning in panic, for they had violated two of their most sacrosanct laws. In addition to the penalty for their forbidden act, the princess feared punishment for failing to maintain her virginity as a condition of her future marriage. Either penalty was death, and they feared for each other's lives._

_"Thus, in the dead of night, the terrified prince and princess stole away from their kingdom, to seek the help of legendary trolls in the mountains who were said to be the wisest in matters of love._

_"The king of the trolls took them in, prince and princess who wished to forget their forbidden love, to become once again a brother and sister. And he warned them, 'the heart is not so easily changed,' but they were desperate to fulfill their marriage obligations and could not do so with their desires and the guilt of their sin fresh in their minds. The heart is not so easily changed, but the head can be persuaded. Two lovers gave their memories to the troll king, willing him to take away all those pertaining to their passionate relationship, and to return only those memories in which they were brother and sister._

_"So he returned their memories, while keeping back the ones they wished to be rid of, and they returned to their kingdom."_

Olaf and Margaret suddenly turned to each other with worried looks. "Calm down, kids. We're not going to force you into anything," Anna quickly reassured them.

"_However_," Pabbie continued, _"as the troll king feared, his persuasion of their minds could not last for long. Within the span of two months, the prince and princess, fully believing themselves brother and sister, fell in love and fell to temptation all over again. They came again to the trolls, having forgotten their previous attempt, and again begged the troll king to remove their memories of consummating their romantic feelings. The old troll saw that this cycle would continue in futility, and rather than remove their new memories, he returned their former ones._

_"There was only one hope for the prince and princess to remain as brother and sister. They could give up their memories once more, and then arrange to be permanently separated, so as to not rediscover their carnal passions. However, their love was stronger than their devotion to duty, and they preferred to risk death and destruction upon their kingdom to remain together as lovers rather than live apart as distant family._

_"The king of trolls warned them that the trolls were one source of wisdom, that other legends and practitioners might hold the natural or divine law to override the virtue of love, thereby condemning them. There are many followers of these schools of thought, as you well know, and they might curse any love they find distasteful, no matter how true._

_"But their hearts were set upon this dangerous course, and the troll king had no choice but to aid them in the hope that they would succeed. He provided them a one-time enchantment that would allow one of them to appear dead until revived by a true love's kiss. The princess volunteered to take the enchantment, and the prince brought her back to the trolls in secret one month later, after the kingdom had mourned her apparent death. He returned to his place as crown prince of the kingdom, and she remained with the trolls for four years, as we transformed her into an entirely new person. Then, she returned to her home, disguised as one of the many foreign princesses seeking her prince's hand. He alone recognized her among his suitors and, according to plan, chose her as his bride. Thus did they cease to exist as brother and sister, and became only a prince and his newly wedded consort…"_

Olaf and Margaret listened with rapt attention, sensing a promising solution to their own dilemma. But at the same time, a realization seemed to come over Elsa, and she became more and more nervous. "No, no, please, no," she whimpered, while Anna squeezed her hand, sensing her discomfort.

Pabbie, however, noticed Elsa's increasing fear and distress, quickly pausing his story. "Queen Elsa, I am sorry," he said very sympathetically and somberly, "it was their wish as well that you and your heirs never know of this story, but unfortunately it now seems that the House of Aren's survival may require that you be informed."

Anna had put her arm around Elsa by this point, whispering, "What's wrong, Elsa?" before realizing, with a jolt, exactly what was the matter. "Oh my God," Anna said quietly, thunderstruck, suddenly remembering what she knew of her father's childhood – specifically, that he had once had a beloved younger sister, who had tragically died from a mysterious illness at fifteen years old… he'd been seventeen at the time and then had married their mother four years later… Anna knew what was bothering Elsa now – she'd always been quicker on the uptake and had figured it out before Anna did – _their own parents were the brother and sister in Pabbie's story!_

By this point Elsa looked extremely sick and ready to throw up at any moment. Anna was even a little queasy herself, though she did her best to ignore the feeling and tend to Elsa who was worse off. Silently, Anna looked at Pabbie with a pleading expression, and he nodded, giving them permission. They stood unsteadily, Anna supporting Elsa as they made their way to some nearby bushes, while their children looked back in concern.

"They will be alright," Pabbie gently reassured the teenagers, who would soon learn what their elders already knew. "They are already aware of what you are about to learn…" as Pabbie spoke, there were sounds of retching in the distance behind Margaret and Olaf, causing looks of apprehension to flit across their faces, "…it is difficult knowledge, but the fate of your ancestors may hold the key to your own…" at that moment, a wrenching sob from Elsa floated through the air, and both Olaf and Margaret glanced behind them in concern, to see Elsa kneeling, hunched over towards the bushes, and Anna holding her hair out of the way and trying to comfort her.

The two teenagers turned back to Pabbie somewhat apprehensively, having seen what the knowledge in question had done to their elders.

"Is this really something we want to know?" Olaf asked unsurely, motioning over his shoulder.

"If you wish to be a mated couple, I'm afraid so," Pabbie answered somberly.

The teenagers turned to each other and quickly came to a silent agreement.

"We'll hear it," said Olaf.

"The story goes thus," Pabbie resumed his storytelling, _"The prince chose his princess, and none recognized her true identity, his sister having supposedly died four years before. And they were joyfully reunited, but some nights later, they dreamed that a mysterious figure of thunder and lightning appeared to them. He warned them to repent of their sin, or they would be punished, for God sees what is hidden to mortal eyes. As you know, most of the religions of men are much less forgiving than the lore of the trolls, in their condemnation of those whose hearts lead them astray from their flock._

_"The two lovers, formerly brother and sister, worried over this premonition, but ultimately decided that it was only a remnant of the lingering fears from the religion they had grown up with. They proceeded with their engagement, refusing to allow some ancient scriptures to intimidate them from their true love._

_"Their marriage was a joyous occasion, none but themselves privy to the secret they hid from their people. No more nightmares plagued them, and it seemed they had defeated all the obstacles against them._

_"Yet soon after their marriage, tragedies began to befall them. Their father, the king, died of a heart attack just two months after their wedding. One year later their mother, the queen, fell ill with a spreading tumor, and was dead five months later. The young lovers ascended unwillingly to their parents' places as king and queen. Their only solace was each other, and their love carried them through their grief._

_"The new king and queen were as devoted to their people as to each other, and their kingdom prospered. When the queen fell pregnant, all rejoiced. She gave birth to a beautiful little girl, in defiance of all the old legends which tell of hideous monsters born from incest._

_"But we all wonder now whether their legendary God, invisible though he may be, is truly as powerful as the men who condemn sinners to hell in his name have said he is. As the years went by, the new king and queen only rarely recalled that they were once brother and sister, and the world never knew. But, tragically, they did not live happily ever after. They lived their last years in anguish, suffering together as an entire family, for their beautiful daughter had been cursed – she covered everything she touched in ice, and lived in fear of freezing the people she loved."_

Olaf and Margaret looked at each other in wonder, both suddenly understanding the truth.

Pabbie finished his story. "The king and queen watched helpless for ten years as their daughter and heir grew apart from them in her prison of unmelting ice. By the time they met their end in a stormy shipwreck, it was equally plausible to interpret their deaths as an act of mercy or as a final punishment from the heavens. Fortunately, as you know, the orphaned ice princess later discovered how to cure her curse by her own true love, and her kingdom was restored to its former glory.

"Yes, the brother and sister of this story were your own grandparents; I was the troll king who helped them upon their request… and their secret would have followed them into the depths of the sea, had you not come to us with their same problem."

Silence reigned for a moment, as Olaf and Margaret processed this revelation, overawed.

"Does this mean…" Olaf asked slowly, thinking aloud, "…if we get married, we'll have kids with powers like Aunt Elsa?"

"Or are you saying we'll all die untimely deaths and our kids will suffer if we go for it?" Margaret prudently added.

Olaf's excitement about having magical children deflated as he realized his sister had a good question, and it showed on his face. "Uh, yeah, that too."

"It is impossible to say, my dear. We trolls know of many legends that have been told by every race of beings, including men, but one can never be sure how much is truth and how much is fiction. Was it by coincidence that your grandparents lost their own parents so soon after succeeding in their matrimonial scheme? Or was it their punishment from a disapproving heaven? No one has ever been to the mythical heaven's paradise and returned to give a firsthand account. No one has ever seen the mysterious all-powerful being whom men call Christ. You must follow your hearts and decide what of the ancient stories you will believe for yourself."

===== 30 years later =====

After concluding a late night in the office, King Olaf and Queen Margaret emerged from the royal study and began the short walk to their royal chambers. Now in their forties, Olaf's yellow hair had thinned out near the front, and Margaret, now a pretty brunette, had a few gray strands of her own. In public Margaret pretended to be the servant girl of humble origins whom the king had fallen in love with, and only the older members of the royal family knew her true identity.

On this particular night they finished up with their royal papers at just the right time, for they emerged into the hallway just in time to catch their 16-year-old daughter in her nightclothes, quietly opening a door that was not her own.

"Mina, what are you doing up so late?"

The girl froze in her tracks and her blush told her parents everything they needed to know. The king and queen shared a knowing look.

"Have you taken the precautions?" asked Olaf, thoroughly enjoying his daughter's embarrassment.

"Yes, father." She looked down at her feet, not daring to meet her father's eyes. His next statement made her look up in shock.

"Carry on, then. But tomorrow morning, you and your brother will come up to our study and we shall have a talk."

The king and queen swept off to their own room, leaving their young princess standing in the dimly lit corridor with her hand on the doorknob, stunned to have gotten off so lightly after thinking she'd been caught doing something terrible.

However, the next morning it was the parents' turn to be dumbfounded when all three of their children showed up in their office looking equally disheveled…

===== 200 years later =====

At a conference of the Norwegian History Association …

"As you know," a well-dressed presenter pointed to his figures projected on the screen, "the Arensen royal family of Arendelle has always been noted by historians for its anomalous incidence of disorders that are typically associated with heavy inbreeding. What is particularly interesting in this case, however, is that throughout their entire history the Arensens have never exhibited any of the circumstances that typically favor inbreeding.

"We have known for decades that there is a suppression of sexual attraction between children reared in close proximity, known as the Westermarck effect. We know anecdotally that siblings separated from birth and reared apart are deprived of this effect, and are frequently attracted to each other when reunited as adults.

"But this has never happened in the Arensen line. Historians of that era have been speculating for years about the extent of incestuous relations among the Arensens but have always been stymied by one clear fact – the public records showing that at no point in the last five generations of the Arensen family were there ever any children lost or put up for adoption. If there was any inbreeding, it was between siblings who grew up together, but in that case, why did they not have Westermarck effects?

"Well, today we present the solution to this mystery. Mathias Arensen died five years ago as the last surviving member of his family. In the last years before his death, he gave us permission to exhume his ancestors for DNA testing, in hopes that we might discover the cause of his family's curse. Using his information and historical records, we were able to obtain samples from all members of the dynasty dating back to Aren IV, who was the great-grandfather of Elsa I.

"By tracing their genetic sequences we have confirmed that there was, in fact, inbreeding within the Arensen family for the last eight generations before they died out. Even the spouses who supposedly married into the family from outside were in fact genetically identical to deceased siblings of whichever family member they married. This finding indicates something amazing: that the siblings in question must have faked their deaths, generation after generation, in order to then return to their family as an outsider. The length of time for which the Arensens were able to maintain this illusion without even a hint of public suspicion is truly shocking.

"Why, then, did the Arensens do such a thing for successive generations? This is the question that has preoccupied this research team for the last four years. And at last, we believe we've found the answer.

"Comparing the genetic sequences from the Arensen family to those from other Scandinavian people, we find this mutation here, on chromosome 20, which turns out to be unique to the last eight generations of the Arensens. Nobody else in northern Europe has this sequence. After years of study, our doctors have discovered that this gene is active in the early development of the vomeronasal organ and encodes a key portion of the signaling pathway involved in kin detection. This, in other words, is a mutation that knocks out the Westermarck effect.

"That solves the biggest mystery. But how did this devastating change get into the family tree at all? The first Arensen to possess this mutation was King Adgar of Arendelle – neither of his parents had it. We can conclude, therefore, that it was an entirely random mutation – a one-in-a-billion chance.

"In fact, we can even pinpoint where it happened. This is because Adgar's wife, Queen Idunn, who is actually genetically identical to Adgar's deceased younger sister Princess Ida, has the exact same mutation, even though their genes otherwise differ by as much as you would expect for any two siblings, with each of them inheriting 50% from each parent.

"There's simply no way that the same mutation happened in two entirely unrelated conceptions. The most likely explanation, therefore, is that the mutation must have actually happened in their mother, Princess Alina of Arendelle. It was a germ-line mutation, affecting only the gametes – meaning Alina herself was never affected and seems to have happily married her husband Magnus VI. But both of her children were affected, since half of Alina's egg cells carried the mutation. By sheer coincidence, she passed the gene on to both Adgar and Idunn, meaning that they both lacked any biochemical inhibition to prevent them from experiencing a strong Genetic Sexual Attraction phenomenon when they reached puberty. It's hard to imagine them going to the trouble of faking Idunn's death in order to marry if their attraction were not reciprocal.

"The next two generations are where the story gets interesting. Adgar and Idunn had only two daughters and no sons, meaning that inbreeding was not possible even though both of their daughters inherited the mutated gene. Actually, their older daughter, Elsa I, who was the famous "Snow Queen," refused to marry due to fear of passing her magical curse on to any children. The family line therefore continues through Adgar and Idunn's younger daughter, Princess Anna, who marries Kristoff of Arendelle, and has two children, Olaf and Margaret, passing the mutant gene on to both of them.

"Now, you have opposite gender siblings again. Olaf and Margaret do the same thing their grandparents do – fake the sister's death and then bring her back as a stranger – and then they have three children. Then, their daughter, Mina, and elder son, Fredrik, actually succeed them on the throne. But wait, they have a third child, Prince Torvald – he stays unmarried and a bachelor the entire time.

"King Fredrik supposedly has a son and a daughter of his own, who are raised as siblings. But our genetic tests show that they're actually half siblings. Because their daughter was Fredrik's, but their son is actually Torvald's. Historical records from the then-kingdom of Arendelle do contain accounts from courtiers and visitors who sometimes mention that Torvald and Mina were known to be close friends and publicly affectionate to the point of sometimes raising eyebrows. On the other hand, Torvald was also known to be equally affectionate with his elder brother, so all they really had was speculation - which is all we have, too. Remember, none of their contemporaries knew that Mina was related to them – she had her false identity as Princess Kristina – but everyone did know that Fredrik and Torvald were brothers, so what they basically saw was the queen being best friends with the king's younger brother, and it was basically okay as long as the king approved. Fredrik was even on record as saying that he allowed his brother to be close to his wife as a 'backup plan' in case something happened to him – apparently, he thought the rumors were hilarious, so he wasn't afraid to feed them himself and was always happy to hear what got reported back to him from his spies.

"The next generation is the last generation of the Arensen monarchy, because they abdicate during this time. Fredrik's supposed son, who he may or may not have known wasn't his, initially takes the throne as Aren V. But, we know from history that Aren V was tragically killed in a hunting accident a few years into his reign. Well, actually he wasn't. He shows up later, same DNA, different name – now he goes by Aaron, and that's how he marries his sister, Elsa II, who succeeded him on the throne because he 'died' with no heirs. So he marries back into his own rightful throne, ironically enough. Twenty years later, as part of the Great Union treaty, they abdicate the throne of Arendelle as part of the creation of the new Republic of Norway. After that point, they become known as simply Aaron and Elizabeth Arensen, no longer holding any title of nobility.

"Elizabeth and Aaron are the first generation of Arensens to start showing the genetic problems that will ultimately finish off the entire family. The truth is, by the time they abdicated, both in their fifties, they were both in relatively poor health, and it's mostly their children, former Prince Anders and former Princess Orla, along with the Arendelle Citizen's Council leadership, who are responsible for negotiating the union treaty with the other kingdoms that agree to join together as the new nation of Norway. A few years later, both Aaron and Elizabeth are among the fewer than 100 victims of a minor plague outbreak in Arendelle. Palace records suggest they were both always frail as children, but living in the castle protected them from the germs and harsh environments of the outside world. Their weaker immune systems couldn't handle the dirt and disease when they finally began living as private citizens.

"Anders also dies in the same outbreak, leaving Orla to raise their young children alone. They've tried for the last four generations to break their family's trend, and have failed each time. Orla, knowing her family history and her children's likely fate, resigns her elected seat on the Citizen's Council, and moves her entire family to the countryside in order to be away from public scrutiny. There they live for two more generations in the woods, while the new nation of Norway modernizes along with the rest of the world around them. Fifty years later, too debilitated by their illnesses to keep up their family farm, Adolphus and Sara Arensen move back to their ancestral hometown with their young son, Mathias, in order to be close to a major regional hospital. At this point in our history the Republic of Norway has liberalized to the point that incest is no longer a crime, so there are no legal repercussions when their doctors learn their family history. Adolphus and Sara both die when their son, Mathias, is 13 years old. He was actually lucky to be alive at all, given that his mother suffered six miscarriages in 10 years after giving birth to him.

"Mathias contacted us when he was 17, after doctors told him he might not live much longer. His help was instrumental in bringing us all of the information presented here today. Unfortunately, his condition worsened during the next two years, though he outlived his doctors' expectations by many months. Five years ago in January, when there was nothing more the doctors could do, Mathias asked us to take him out of the hospital. There was a specific place in the mountains, he said, that was special to his family, and he wished to die there. Given how valuable he has been to Norway's historians, and how little he had asked of us until then, we felt it was fair to oblige his request.

"The place Mathias asked us to leave him looked nothing out of the ordinary. It was a grass plain, snowed over, surrounded by steam geysers and round rocks, somewhere in the mountains north of Arendelle. Mathias asked that he not be buried after his death, but instead wished to be left to the elements. Unfortunately, we will never know why this place was special to the Arensen family. Mathias said it was his family's last secret, and he'd shared everything else with us for posterity."

Thunderous applause.

==== Five years earlier ====

The sickly young man stumbled through the clouds, steadied by the hand of an angel who escorted him towards the pearly gates. But miraculously, as soon as he had passed through the gates, he found that he no longer felt weak and sick as he had before – the grace of God had cured everything that the best doctors on Earth could not.

"Welcome to paradise, Mathias Karl Arensen. From the many hard trials of your life have you been delivered, and here is your eternal reward."

The angel bowed and flew away, and Mathias looked up when someone called his name.

"Hello, Mathias!" It was a fair-haired, dashing young man, riding up to him on a snowy white horse.

"Um…" Mathias looked up, not recognizing the man. "Do I know you, sir?"

"No, but we're related!" the man said jovially, jumping down and offering his hand to Mathias. "Magnus Goran Alexander Torvald Arensen, pleased to meet you! Welcome to heaven – we're so glad one of you finally made it!"

"Magnus Goran Alexander…" Mathias trailed off after him reflexively, shaking his hand. Suddenly, the realization struck, and the teenager gasped in awe. "You're Magnus the Great!"

"Indeed I am," the man acknowledged. "Centuries ago, in the age of kings and empires, I was the sixth King Magnus of our little Arendelle. But now I am only your great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather!"

"That's so amazing!" gushed Mathias. "We learned about you in eighth grade history class, how you saved the Danes and everything!" The teenager looked down at himself despondently. "And I've been sick and useless all my life. I feel so unworthy of being your descendant…"

"Oh, don't worry about that!" the great king said cheerfully. "We're family, and that's all that matters! Come on, the rest of us want to meet you." Magnus pulled his descendant up onto the horse after him and they set off into the mist.

"Um, King Magnus? When you said—"

"Call me Magnus, dear."

"Magnus, when you said one of us finally made it, what did you mean?"

"Oh, you know… until you came along, Alina and I were the last Arensens to get into heaven. It was terribly disappointing watching from up here, powerless as our own offspring got condemned generation after generation… wondering if any of our descendants would ever come up to join us… and it was always for the same ridiculous reason, they were all lying with their own brothers and sisters and that's just – who ever comes up with such perverse things, anyway? But finally, we had you, and you didn't follow in your parents' footsteps, thank God."

"To be fair, I never had any siblings," Mathias remarked. It hadn't sunk in yet, but by the next day he would be depressed at the realization that he was never to see his parents again. For the moment, though, he was still numb.

"Yes, and we're glad. Anyway, this is the new, or rather old, Arensen family home. Those of us who managed to stay straight on earth are all here." Mathias noticed now an imposing castle looming in the mist ahead of them – or rather, two obviously different halves of castles that met neatly in the middle. "The left half is Arendelle Castle and the right half is Castle Corona – my sister Ingrid married into that family, so they're all there. Of course, since you're not used to living in a castle, you might like the townhouse better - " as Magnus said this, a large, fancy house came into view to the right of the castle – "the last two or three generations of my in-laws' family have all come in being used to houses, because nobody lives in a castle anymore nowadays…"

* * *

_Uh oh! What has become of our beloved Elsa and Anna?_

_This was the original ending of this story, but one of my AO3 readers found it extremely depressing that Elsa/Anna and all their descendants ended up roasting in hell forever. So I made a bonus fifth chapter to offer them all a little hope! Stay tuned._


	5. The End

Bonus Chapter 5

=== 240 years earlier ===

They'd had a good thirty years together, but both Elsa and Anna had known that their time had to end eventually. Anna had gone first, and she'd made Elsa promise to keep living and keep taking care of herself. That promise kept Elsa alive through the terrible day of Anna's funeral and through the next several years. Olaf had long since taken over the duties of kingship, and their three grandchildren loved Elsa's ice powers (fading though they were) just as Anna always had, and she taught them the arts of royalty when their mother was busy.

Still, when the day came, Elsa floated from her bed into the light and left her painfully arthritic body behind, with her wrinkled face smiling contentedly in anticipation of her reunion with her true love.

In the afterlife Elsa found that she was young again, not a sag or wrinkle left anywhere on her. An angel held aloft a flaming sword as it extended its other hand to her, leading her into the light above.

"Elsa Marie Arensen," boomed a voice from on high, "your time on earth is ended, and now you have come to your final judgment."

At no point had Elsa noticed any changes to her clothing, but suddenly, her dress had disappeared and she was buck naked in the light of heaven. It was warm enough, but nevertheless she still felt a habitual embarrassment and fought the urge to cover herself.

"Remind Me, my queen," boomed the Father's voice, "what were My ten Commandments?"

Elsa wondered for a moment if Anna would have been able to pass such a test; hopefully she had. Elsa had always been the better of the two when it came to book learning of any kind.

"Thou shalt not steal," she recited from long-ago memories, "thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods, nor make unto thee any graven image. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain; thou shalt have no other gods before me… thou shalt remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy… thou shalt honor thy father and mother… thou shalt not bear false witness… thou shall not commit adultery…" Elsa couldn't help but flush scarlet at the last one, embarrassingly aware of all she'd done with Anna over the many happy years she'd been married to Kristoff.

"Very good…" said the voice above, "So then, did you, indeed, keep My commandments?"

"No…" Elsa mumbled guiltily.

Fear began to creep into Elsa's heart as she questioned whether Anna would have been tactful enough to admit she was wrong – or would she have been the stubborn spitfire she always was? Elsa silently prayed that her sister had made it through the judgment.

"Even now, you pray," boomed the heavenly Father with a hint of mocking, "yet you once forgot that even kings and queens must answer to the king of kings in the end, did you not?"

"My people were dying," Elsa pleaded, beginning to cry, "What was I supposed to do?"

"Tell me, Elsa Marie Arensen, where in My Word is there an exception for any mortal circumstance that may test one's faith?"

"But I – " Elsa sputtered, the fear in her heart now was not only for her own fate.

"Did you consider, for example… leaving? Could you not have removed yourself to some place across the seas, or far to the north, where your special gift might not have reached your precious kingdom?"

Elsa had indeed considered this, once upon a time. Only the specter of her sister's devastation had kept her back. She knew it, and she knew there was no hiding from the Almighty. There was nothing she could say.

Everything she'd ever done, right or wrong, had been for Anna. And now Elsa could no longer escape the horrifying realization that her weakness had condemned them both. Her inability to resist Anna's demands at every step, first in the ballroom when they were children and then in their bedroom when they were grown, had cost them everything. Not for the first time in her existence Elsa collapsed at the feet of the Lord, sobbing helplessly.

"Yes, now you see," boomed the voice above, "the truth is that you did worship another god before Me… you did make unto thee an idol – whom you utterly failed to save by the way," (Elsa cringed at the reminder of her great failure, only dimly suspecting that God was twisting the knife in her on purpose) "-you did covet thy neighbor's wife, you did commit adultery, you did have sexual relations with your father's daughter. And all this you did freely, repeatedly, and with full knowledge of the consequences, refusing to repent of your sin… and so the fate you sought by your actions shall be yours. Good bye."

Suddenly, the floor vanished from under Elsa and she fell with a startled scream into the darkness below.

* * *

=== 240 years later – present day ===

Though saddened by the loss of his parents, Mathias gradually adjusted to the easy life of paradise. His distant cousins of the Corona family welcomed him with open arms, even though they'd only just met him, while Magnus and Alina became the doting grandparents he had never had in his short childhood.

But then, one day, some of the Corona family's more recent friends came over for tea.

"Mathias, meet my former colleagues Alvard and Rik, we worked together at the company for 25 years. Alvard, Rik, this is our cousin Mathias, he just got here a few months ago."

"Pleased to meet you!" The men shook hands. Mathias understood that his cousin's friends were much older - they had all been in their seventies when they'd died, during the time Mathias had still been a child in the hospital.

What made Mathias's hairs stand on end was his observation that his two new acquaintances were very affectionate with each other. They acted essentially like a couple.

"Were they a couple?" Mathias asked his cousin Gunter later.

"Yep! They've been together all their lives. It actually worked out great for them, our church was one of the first ones to allow same-sex marriages, so we had reporters at their wedding and everything!"

Mathias's brow furrowed as he took in this new revelation. He said little for the rest of that meeting. But some time later, when Magnus and Alina came to visit, he asked them about his discovery.

"Gunter introduced me to some friends of his, and they were gay. How come they were allowed up here when my parents and grandparents weren't?"

"Ah, you see, the churches have been lowering their standards over the past century… when they stopped telling people that being gay was a sin, and these people listened to priests they thought they could trust, who instead twisted the Holy Scripture to their own ends, what else could be the result? We are, after all, here only because God is merciful, and even though He originally set out to condemn all that was evil, in the last one hundred years He has granted His mercy to the increasing numbers who have been misled while seeking to follow Him in good faith. Those who knowingly do the Devil's work, on the other hand… none of them will ever be admitted here."

"Then what about my parents! Why did God let Alvard and Rik through, and not them?"

"Sadly, it seems that your parents, like all the lost souls of our family, knew exactly what God's will was for them… and could not plead ignorance as Eugene's lucky friends did. There is nothing we can do for them."

"That can't be right! You can't control who you love. Just because the churches in their time weren't as enlightened means they all get condemned and we don't?"

* * *

=== 240 years earlier ===

Elsa's fall through the darkness was broken by a splash into something extremely hot. Scalding hot, as a matter of fact. Instinctively she flailed at what she quickly realized was a large pit of bubbling hot lava that she'd fallen into, fighting her way out. But as she approached the black stone edge of the pool she felt her ankle yanked backwards by what felt like a heavy metal shackle, preventing her escape. Her ice powers fired on instinct, shocking her with the discovery that she still even had them, but they were useless, for any ice that emerged from her hands instantly melted and flashed into steam in the searing heat.

For once in her entire life, Elsa could not cool herself down however hard she tried. Within moments she was screaming again, not out of fear, but in pure physical pain, her entire body burning. She'd experienced plenty of emotional pain during her existence, but never such intense physical pain.

But moments later, Elsa stopped screaming in shock when she was interrupted by a _very_ familiar shout.

"_Elsa!_"

It was Anna, and she sounded panicked. A fear that Elsa had not felt for decades exploded into her consciousness; the fear for her sister's safety.

"_Anna!_"

Without a second thought Elsa turned and splashed through the lava, swimming towards the sound with all her strength, no longer caring that every splatter of glowing orange lava scalded her face and hands. And then right in front of her there was Anna, who looked scarcely older than she had at the disastrous coronation, closing the distance rapidly in the same manner.

"_Elsa! Are you alright!?_" Anna shouted, clearly extremely worried, as she grabbed Elsa and hugged her tightly. An incredible sense of relief and comfort swept over Elsa as she felt their bodies mold together again – it had been so many years since they had last been able to touch physically, and having Anna in her arms made her feel that she'd come home again, for one shining moment.

But within moments the euphoria began to wear off. The painfully scalding sensation that had been pushed to the background began to reassert itself in Elsa's consciousness, and all over her feet, all down the back of her legs, all over her back except for the two strips where Anna's arms were tightly holding her, every inch of her skin was on fire, it was more pain than she'd ever felt in her life. She also felt the metal ring on Anna's ankle and dimly realized that she too must be shackled to the bottom of the lava pit.

"Anna – you – I – " Elsa struggled for a moment, tongue-tied with shock and conflicting emotions at seeing her beloved again, but finally one thought came to the front. "Anna," she said, her breathing labored as she tried to block out the pain all over her skin, "I'm sorry – this is my fault – "

"Don't," Anna clenched her teeth, grinding out the words despite being in obvious pain herself, "say – that – ever – " she paused and drew in another painful breath – "I love you – and I meant it when – I said I'd – go through – anything – to be with you – forever – "

Despite her crushing burden of guilt, Elsa's heart couldn't help soaring a little, sprung free by the immense relief that their years apart had not broken her sister's spirit. Elsa knew Anna's stubbornness very well, but she had never imagined her sister could be _this_ stubborn, and as always she found it incredibly endearing.

And then Anna took another breath and planted her lips on Elsa's with a passion they hadn't shared for quite some years.

It was a while later before they'd caught their breath.

"What is it, Anna? …Well, aside from the obvious, anyway…" Elsa would've giggled at her own silliness if she hadn't been in so much pain.

"Elsa, … I'm the one who dragged you down here… I'm the one who should be sorry," Anna choked out the words. "I wish I'd never existed… and you wouldn't have to be stuck down here because of me…"

"Anna, if anyone shouldn't have existed it's—" Elsa started and then stopped short, recognizing exactly where this was going. She saw the same recognition on Anna's face, and as Anna drew an indignant breath Elsa could almost hear her argument before she said it…

"Anna…" Elsa sighed endearingly, "we've been over this a thousand times… I don't think we're ever going to agree about this…"

"No, I guess we won't…"

The two sisters shared an oddly companionable moment of silence – odd only in light of their surroundings, but otherwise how they'd always been. Everywhere their skin touched there was relief from the excruciating burning of the hot lava, and it drove them to hold their embrace tightly.

Some time later, Elsa became aware of another presence near them, and she turned and opened her eyes to see another two familiar faces floating in the pool.

"Mom? Dad?"

They were younger than Elsa last remembered them, but there was no mistaking them.

"Elsa," breathed old king Adgar in wonder, "Elsa, I'm so sorry…"

Clouds of steam from their vaporized tears of joy and grief billowed around all four of their heads, cocooning them off from the literal hell around them, as the long-separated family was at long last reunited.

* * *

=== present day ===

"I want to see my parents," Mathias said, standing in the infinite light of the throne of God.

"They have cut themelves off from Me," came the booming reply. "Why should you think of them?"

"You told me to honor my father and mother," answered Mathias, "and though they fell short of Your glory as we all have, it was they who loved me and nurtured me into one of Your followers, and I beg You now to show them the same mercy You have shown to me, to my cousin Gunter and to his friends Alvard and Rik, my Lord."

The warm wind that blew around Mathias also carried the sound of a loud sigh.

"All have free will, yet only some accept salvation, while others choose the way of the Devil. That is their choice. But for your sake and not theirs, we allow you one visit."

An angel appeared before Mathias and offered her hand, which Mathias accepted. The angel then pulled him down through the clouds and into the darkness.

The angel dived through the darkness, pulling Mathias by the hand, and then suddenly they arrived in the bleak stone landscape of hell. Pits of boiling lava pockmarked the otherwise dark land, their orange glow providing the only illumination. The temperature was uncomfortably hot, and Mathias felt sweat beading and running down his face and dripping from his armpits for the first time in many months. In heaven it was always just the right temperature, never too hot or cold…

_Don't let go of my hand_, the angel telepathically warned Mathias, while leading him up to the edge of a gigantic lava pit a few meters in front of them. Heads bobbled above the surface of the bubbling lava, a cacophony of talking, laughing, and groaning in pain. A young couple boiling in the pit looked up from their huddled embrace and spotted him – and almost jumped out at him, waving enthusiastically. "Mathias! What are you doing here?"

He thought he would be prepared, but Mathias was still shocked to see his own parents, almost identical to how he remembered them, amongst the prisoners of the pit. He hurried to the edge and knelt down, the angel passively gliding along and being pulled behind him with no resistance.

"Mom! Dad! Are you okay?"

Adolphus shrugged, gesturing to their obviously noxious environment. "Well, we're not sick anymore, so that's nice. On the other hand, this actually hurts even worse, so… good health isn't everything, I guess." He gave a pained, yet genuinely amused laugh, and Mathias was not sure how he should feel.

"Mathias, you're not getting thrown in here now, are you?" Sara asked her son worriedly, her immense relief evident when Mathias shook his head no. "Are you visiting us from heaven?"

"Yes."

"Oh, that's my darling boy!" she said happily. "We've been worrying all this time, dreading the day you might fall into our suffering… but we missed you so."

"I'm sorry it took me so long to come visit," said Mathias. "You should be up there with our ancestors."

Meanwhile another couple, who looked no older than Mathias's own parents, had floated over. "Son," said Adolphus proudly, "this is your Grandpa Lars and Grandma Gertrude – our parents…" his tone turned wistful, "they died before you were born, so you never had the chance to meet them before…"

Mathias leaned down to let them each hold his face and give him a kiss on the cheek. Just a few inches above the bubbling liquid, the heat was overwhelming, and when Mathias put out a hand to try to feel the temperature of the lava he jerked it back.

"How are you guys still talking and smiling in there?!" exclaimed Mathias. "This is… hot!"

"Of course it is," said Adolphus. "This is our punishment because, apparently, our love is wrong and we have to be punished for it, or something. But if we're going to suffer anyways, why suffer in silence?"

"We can't control what happens to us," added Lars, "but we can still do our best to focus on the good and ignore the bad."

Suddenly registering the fact that no one was wearing any clothes in the lava pit, Mathias fleetingly wondered whether his parents could have sex while trapped in the boiling lava. But he was much too embarrassed to ask.

"So, tell us about heaven," said Gertrude. "What's it like?"

* * *

=== 238 years ago ===

The four former Arendelle royals passed the time as best they could, parents and children forming two couples side by side.

"Anna, do you ever regret it?"

"Nope!"

A bursting bubble of lava splashed a few drops on Anna's face, making her grimace slightly, but she stubbornly kept her cheerful expression.

"How can you not?!"

"Thirteen years outside your locked door, Elsa – _that_ was hell," and Elsa marveled at how she could fall even more in love with her sister than she already was, "this? This pain is nothing compared to not having you in my life."

Watching from the side, Adgar and Idunn both cried and the steam shrouded their faces; Idunn sobbing loudly on Adgar's shoulder, he sniffling on hers, as their younger daughter's declaration drove home just how enormous their mistake had been in separating the two children. At that moment there was a pain in their hearts, that hurt even more than the pain of the lava all over their bodies and the hot steam scalding their exposed faces and necks.

A short while later they felt arms and bodies around them. Both Anna and Elsa had floated over to console them. "It's okay, mama, papa… we're together now…"

"If we hadn't separated you," Adgar asked somewhat fearfully, "would you still have done the same… to end up here? Would you have…" _Would you still have committed incest?_

Elsa and Anna had no way to know the scientific truth, both having died nearly two centuries before the science that would explain their feelings had even been invented.

"I don't know," Elsa admitted reluctantly. "But it's not your fault, there was no way any of us could have known."

Over two centuries later, when Mathias brought them the news of the latest scientific discoveries about their family during one of his visits from heaven, Adgar and Idunn would finally be able to rest in emotional peace.

* * *

=== present day ===

"Generations of my ancestors kept the faith that ultimately led me to You," said Mathias at the foot of God's throne. "They passed their love down through the generations to me. I can't just sit up here and enjoy paradise while my own parents suffer for the way they were born – for some fluke genetic mutation only You could possibly have ordained. Haven't they suffered enough now? Please?"

A few days later Mathias was back to visit his parents yet again.

"Mom, Dad," he said, "I asked God to let you see heaven for a little while…"

Seven past generations of Arensens listened with great interest at the prospect of any respite, however short, from the constant torture they were accustomed to.

"The catch is," said Mathias, "only one of you is allowed out of the fire pit at a time, because I have to take your place for however long you go out. And then you have to come back before I'm allowed to go home. Apparently, hell doesn't care who gets punished for the sin, as long as someone's getting it. Oh, and time passes a lot slower down here, so a week here is only as long as a day in heaven."

"Mathias, you don't have to do this. We can't go if it means you have to go through this."

"I want to, Mom. It's not right that you're down here and I'm up there just because I died before I had the chance to commit a sin."

"No," Adolphus said, "we're your parents, we're the ones who should be suffering for you, not the other way around."

"You've done it long enough," said Mathias. "I can't rest knowing that you're being wronged. At least let me share some of your burden."

Mathias watched his parents argue for a few minutes about who should go first.

"I'm afraid neither of us is willing to go without the other," said Sara apologetically. "Is there anyone else in our family, by chance, who might be so kind as to help us… distant descendants though we might be?"

"We'd understand if there are not, of course," added Adolphus, "and if you can't find anyone, perhaps some of the other couples would be willing to separate for a bit – we'll let them take the opportunity, if you still wish to make such an incredible sacrifice for us. We would never ask this of you, mind you."

* * *

=== 215 years earlier ===

The four of them had shared their eternal punishment for twenty-five years now. Adgar and Idunn had arrived first – drowned in each other's arms in that midnight shipwreck over six decades ago, they'd been judged together, condemned together and then dropped into the lava together, never letting go of each other the entire time. Thirty years after that, they'd watched Anna fall from the sky before their eyes and spent the following years making their amends at last. Eight years later Elsa joined them, which in a terrible irony made their family whole for the first time since the girls had been children.

Now it had been 25 years since they were reunited, and Adgar, Idunn, Elsa, and Anna had shared just about everything they could think to talk about. They all knew every little detail of their lives that any of them knew. They had tried and tested all the physical limits of their situation, exploring as much as they could with their ankle chains tethering them in the pool. They had even had a few yelling conversations with fellow damned in the neighboring lava pools. Elsa even managed to learn how to make giant steam paintings in the air above them by conjuring shaped ice that would rapidly vaporize, though it took her a great deal of concentration.

Then one day there was a yell, and a splash, and a chillingly girlish scream, and the four Arensens turned to look at the new arrival on the other side of their pit.

Elsa and Anna looked at each other in horror. Adgar and Idunn turned to their children in concern.

"What's wrong?"

Anna had already shot off towards the flailing new arrival like a dart, swimming through the thick lava as if it was water. Elsa took the moment to explain to her parents. "It's our son, Olaf."

Understanding with wrenching clarity, Adgar and Idunn looked on with quiet sympathy and concern while Elsa waded over to help her nephew, who was already being fussed over by Anna as best she could given the circumstances.

"Aunt Elsa," sobbed Olaf, choked up, "you were right… all along… why did you let us do that…"

Two years later when it was Margaret's turn to fall, Anna and Elsa did the same thing that their own parents had done for them previously, keeping to the side and giving their children a bit of private time together.

"Oh, I knew it!" wailed Margaret. "Why couldn't we have been a little stronger? Why?" She cried on her brother's shoulder and he cried on hers. "Why do our hearts lead us to such torment?"

For Adgar and Idunn the guilt had doubled: for now their grandchildren were ensnared in the chain of destiny they had started.

* * *

=== present day ===

"I've allowed this foolishness until now, but this is too far!"

"They're our children, Magnus!"

"Not anymore! They're grown adults and they made their own choices!"

"Have you forgotten how love works, you cold-hearted bastard!"

Mathias winced as the raised voices of his great-great…-great grandparents seeped through the door, and a few moments later Alina and Magnus both stormed out in a huff. "Come on, let's go," said Alina, taking Mathias by the hand and leaving the castle in an obviously sour mood.

When Mathias had brought up his dilemma at teatime that evening, Alina had seen an opportunity to do something for her own children. It quickly turned out that Alina and Magnus had been having this disagreement for the last few weeks, ever since Mathias had started visiting his parents down in hell. Alina had gone with him one of those times, and had been so heartbroken to see her own son and daughter burning in the pit that she'd quickly sided with Mathias's "modern" views, but Magnus still held to the old traditional values and refused to have any sympathy for his wayward children. He allowed his wife to go once in a while, certainly not as often as she wanted.

"I'm sorry I caused your argument," Mathias said. "Are you still sure you want – "

"Yes."

Stubbornness had long been a signature trait of the Arensen line.

Alina and Mathias descended to the underworld with their angel escort, to take the places of Mathias's parents. _"If they do not voluntarily return for you,"_ the angel warned, _"you will be trapped in their places for eternity."_ The angel lifted Sara and then Adolphus out of the lava pit, their ankle chains magically lengthening enough to let them out; then it transferred the shackles onto Alina and Mathias and with a snap, the chains pulled them both feet-first into the lava. The clothing they were wearing from heaven went up in flames instantly as it touched the lava, engulfing them both in fire for a moment. That would be easily replaced once they re-entered heaven, it was of no concern.

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Alina, breathing heavily as the pain set in. "And you're saying all you guys committed was incest!?"

"Most of us, yes," said Lars. "Or at least, as far as we were told at our actual judgments. Some of our more distant ancestors had other sins in addition, though."

"Yep!" added a boyish-looking head with dull gray eyes and dirty-blonde hair who joined the conversation. "I got tagged for bigamy, sodomy, and adultery, plus the incest of course. Now I don't think I deserve the adultery one, really, because if God says my brother and sister can't actually get married in His eyes, then how can He say I was cheating with them? But I guess it doesn't matter much since just one thing is enough to get you sent down here. Oh, I'm Torvald, by the way. Your great-great-grandson, I think…. yeah, that's right. Thank you so much for doing this for us, we really appreciate it!"

_Meanwhile, on the other side of the lava pit…_

"So I gave them all our family documents," Mathias was explaining, "and a few years later I watched from heaven while they presented the results at a national conference." Adgar, Idunn, Elsa, and Anna followed along closely as Mathias spoke and gestured. "It turns out our whole family has a genetic mutation…"

"What's that?"

"A genetic mutation. A random change in the DNA molecules that determine…"

"What's DNA?"

Fortunately for his outdated ancestors, Mathias's childhood years spent with doctors and in hospitals had given him plenty of experience with how to explain modern biology. He'd spent years being the one having it explained to him.

* * *

=== hours later... ===

_On the younger side of the Arensen family lava pit…_

"So none of you even murdered anyone?" Alina seemed ironically displeased by this. "This kind of pain, for eternity… isn't this kind of excessive for just… well…"

"Yeah, tell that to God when you get back."

_On the elders' side…_

"…so different genes, made of different DNA molecules, can make each person have their own hair color, make them tall or short, fat or thin, and so on. And it turns out, these scientists found that there's a gene that's responsible for making people not fall in love with their brothers and sisters. Our family has a mutated version of that gene, so we don't have that inhibition, and that's why you guys all find each other attractive! If you had the normal gene, you wouldn't be attracted to each other."

Adgar and Idunn both sobbed in relief, as the weight of their eight generations of accumulated guilt finally lifted from their hearts. "_Thank you_," said Elsa emphatically. "Finally, we can tell them it wasn't their fault… we are so indebted to you, Mathias, how can we ever repay you?"

"Repay me by not blaming your grandmother for being here," answered Mathias. "The scientists said it was Alina who had the mutation happen in her egg cells, and that caused both your parents to be attracted to each other, and then you, and so on. But these mutations are all random chance, which means no one can control what they pass on to their own children."

Mathias looked thoughtfully across the pool, where Alina was in a circle with some of his more recent ancestors. "Come to think of it," Mathias thought out loud, "I really hope Alina didn't come down here because she's blaming herself for starting all this. I better go make sure."

"Mathias," said Adgar, "we have been tormented for these last centuries with the fear that all this was our fault. You have freed us, Mathias, thank you truly."

"It was a pleasure," answered Mathias, "and it was only right."

* * *

=== 3 days later ===

Alina had reassured Mathias that she had understood all of his biology talk the previous times he'd explained it to her, and that she had indeed accompanied him out of love rather than guilt. After meeting the rest of her descendants, she'd spent most of the time with the people she'd really missed, those being her own son and daughter.

"We are in awe of your sacrifice, mother," said Adgar. "I'm not sure if I would have the strength to do this, in your place."

"I'm sure you would, dear. Sorry about your father, we both know what he's like. I wonder how many centuries before he comes around…"

"Watch it, gramps," said a bright-yellow-haired boy whom Alina remembered introducing himself as her great-grandson Olaf. "Don't admire her too much or you'll get that idolatry thing added to your sins…"

Adgar gasped, playing along. "Oh no, I've sinned! What shall I do!"

"But Olaf," mock-whined Alina, "I like being idolized by my children!" They shared a laugh.

"Who committed idolatry here, anyways?"

"My mom, apparently. And Aunt Elsa. What I still can't figure out is why the rest of us don't qualify for that sin, seeing as we all loved each other as much as they did… unless maybe they don't even tell us everything we did wrong before sending us down here?"

"Lars actually had this theory involving psychology, or something," chimed in Margaret, "that maybe because they were separated for most of their childhood… and that's what gave them the opportunity to see each other as distant goddesses instead of regular people. And then because they grew up like that, it was just how they saw each other, so they just never stopped with the unconscious worshipping even after they got back together. There was something complicated in there about complexes and stuff that we didn't exactly understand. You can ask him about it."

Alina glanced over at her granddaughters a few feet outside the group, being intimate in their own corner. Actually, the way they were moving slightly back and forth and the mix of pleasure and pain in their facial expressions made her wonder what their hands were doing under the opaque surface of the lava, but she said nothing.

"The other thing, too," said Olaf, "is we're not here because of _all_ our sins, it's only the ones we did on purpose, I think. Or, the ones we did on purpose and didn't repent for. So that might be what we got judged for."

"Hmm," Alina wondered out loud, "Is it too late for you guys to repent now?"

* * *

=== A few hours later ===

On the edge of the lava pit Elsa and Anna floated immobile in each other's arms enjoying their quiet time. They turned at the approach of a blonde head. It was their grandmother Alina, whom they'd gotten to know quite well in the last week, though they tragically hadn't known her as children on earth. Since they'd never seen her in her aged appearance on earth, and had only ever seen her in her youthful afterlife appearance, they easily went along with her instruction to call her "Alina" rather than "grandmother".

"Hi," said Anna.

"Hello, Alina," said Elsa.

"So," Alina whispered conspiratorially, "does it hurt when you have sex in this place?"

Both Anna and Elsa blushed scarlet. They turned to each other and conferred wordlessly.

"Yes," Anna answered, still blushing, and also wincing as she spoke. "The lava gets in your, um… But if you're lucky… it's worth it…"

"It's sooo worth it…" she sighed, more quietly.

* * *

=== 2 more days later ===

Alina was surprised by how much she was enjoying her time in the hellfire. The pain was constant and terrible, but her family and their descendants were so entertaining that it almost seemed to make it worthwhile. Almost. It was still hell, physically, and nothing could compare to the paradise she'd given up one week of in order to help Mathias give his parents one day to experience their son's reward in his place. The surprise was that with her long-lost family around her, the suffering was _just_ bearable enough, considering what she thought to be a righteous cause to do it for.

Mathias was less surprised – he'd gotten to know his direct ancestors well enough over his previous visits, and he could sense how strong their familial bonds were, just like he remembered with his parents in their short time on earth.

Both were pleasantly surprised, however, when Magnus came down to their pit one day, escorted by an angel. Alina had told him she'd be away for six days, and she thought she was somewhere around her fifth day.

"I'm sorry, Alina," said the great king, kneeling down to kiss his wife.

"Took you long enough," she replied, with just a hint of knowing.

The angel pulled Alina out of the lava, and Magnus quickly threw his robe over her to shield her from view. The chain was attached to his own ankle and then pulled taut when the angel snapped its fingers, dragging him in.

"Owww!" he groaned loudly as the lava burned into his body. "Son of a – "

Alina sat on the stone bank, looking more pleased than any wife watching her beloved husband burn in hell should ever be. "They didn't even kill anyone, you know. All their sins together never hurt a fly, no one even knew about them until hundreds of years later…"

Magnus groaned in pain, floating and writhing about in the pit.

"Still think they deserve all this?"

Alina arched an eyebrow, smiling knowingly, and Magnus glared stubbornly back at her.

"Come on, Magnus," she coaxed him gently, still mocking him. "Just say it…"

Magnus sighed dramatically. "You were right, Alina…"

"See, that wasn't so hard now, was it?" She patted him on the head and then spoke quietly to the angel, pointing to Mathias. The angel came forward and lifted Mathias out of the lava pool…

"No, stop!" Magnus said frantically. "Alina, what are you doing!? I came to get you out!"

But the angel paid him no heed, clasping the shackle onto Alina's ankle and sending her splashing back into the lava with a snap of its fingers. Magnus wrapped his arms around her immediately. But she turned in his arms, wincing slightly at the movement, and smushed their lips firmly together as she embraced him.

A moment later, she drew back and turned to Mathias, who was now standing on the stone bank above the lava, wearing her robe – or rather, Magnus's robe, the one he'd worn on his way down from heaven.

"Mathias, go give your parents the tour. They should still have a couple hours left on their day. When they come back somebody else can get a turn up there."

She turned back to Magnus, who stared at her like she was crazy. She looked innocently back at him as if nothing was wrong - as if she hadn't just extended their stay in this literal hell for another several weeks on the spur of the moment. "What?" She shrugged.

Then they both burst out laughing and hugged each other tightly.

The End...

…of our author's writing, that is

* * *

_Whew! As we all know by now, love is powerful indeed._

_This story is officially done on my end, but if anyone wants to use my head-canon-verse for anything please feel free._

_As far as I'm concerned, this is how the movie really ended. Just so long as Disney's "Frozen 2" doesn't conflict!_

_(Obviously, Disney won't dare to actually *show* Elsa being gay, even though we all know she is - the most we Elsanna shippers can hope for is that Disney ends "Frozen 2" with Elsa refusing to marry all her male suitors, just like Merida did… using the "female empowerment" message to conceal the real truth, I suppose)_

_Thanks for reading!_

_***UPDATE 1/9/16 Extra scenes added for the DVD release - check them out in the bonus chapter_


	6. Bonus DVD Features: Deleted Scenes

Bonus Chapter:

Deleted scenes and other snippets that might have been in the story if only the inspiration had come back then. Includes a little bit of Kristoff, as requested by one reviewer.

Enjoy!

* * *

=== Elsa and Anna, time unknown ===

_Pits of boiling lava pockmarked the otherwise dark land, their orange glow providing the only illumination._

_Chained to the bottom of one such pit were two sisters whose love had led them astray…_

_"Anna, do you ever regret it?"_

_"What?"_

_"We could have gone to heaven…"_

_"How were we supposed to know?"_

_"It was right there in the book. Maybe we should have let the mobs kill us."_

_"Uh, yeah… I don't think that would've saved us, Elsa."_

* * *

=== The never-ending argument, sometime before that ===

_"Elsa, I feel like such a horrible person," Anna burst out, "because I'm so relieved and glad you're here and – " her voice caught – "what kind of monster am I to be glad that my sister is suffering next to me instead of – " she broke down completely, wailing into Elsa's shoulder, as the tears fell from her eyes and flash-evaporated in the heat around them to generate a cloud of hot steam that enveloped them._

_"Anna," said Elsa, ignoring the scalding steam that was burning her face and ears, "I'm as guilty as you are… what kind of sister would I be if I wasn't here for you?"_

_"But I – " Anna sobbed, but she had to get the words out even though they were breathing hot steam and her lungs felt like they were on fire with every breath – "I made you do everything! I wouldn't stop jumping higher when you told me to – I didn't listen to you about incest being a sin – you wanted to stop, and repent, and I kept dragging you back – "_

_"But I'm the one who failed to stop you!" Elsa protested. "I should have stopped you, every single time, I'm the older sister, I should know better – I did know better – I just… I failed you, Anna! I – " Elsa halted for a moment as her voice caught in her throat and the inside of her chest burned from the hot steam they were breathing – "I – it was torture worse than this, hearing you cry outside my door those nights… but – I'd have endured it for a lifetime if only I'd known it would keep you from this place…"_

_A fresh set of sobs burst from Anna at those words, and Elsa felt the fresh cloud of steam burning her neck and shoulder._

_"It would've been for nothing," cried Anna even more distraughtly, "I never deserved you! I should've been down here alone forever."_

_"No, I never deserved you," Elsa's response came out a whisper, choked up with emotion, "I should never have been born…"_

_They clung to each other and cried on each other's shoulders for a long time. Days, weeks, months, years, all blurring together…_

* * *

=== The Judgment of Anna, time ~242 years ago ===

_A great voice echoed in the light, louder than she had thought human ears could ever hear, the booming syllables shaking her entire body to the core. The voice indeed seemed to speak not only to her ears but directly to her beating heart, which reverberated with the echoes._

_"Anna Christina Arensen, your time on earth is ended, and now you have come to your final judgment."_

_"Whoa, this dream is weird," was Anna's unfortunate response, blurted out in her usual fashion without even realizing it._

_"This is not a dream, my dear princess." The booming voice seemed to take on a hint of seriousness._

_Only then did Anna look down and realize that her body had suddenly changed – now missing the many wrinkles and stretch marks she had become accustomed to, she appeared decades younger._

_"Wait, what hap—" she started to ask, and then realized what was happening._

_"Yes, you are deceased, little one. You were far too old for such pleasures of the flesh, you see – your heart could not handle the strain."_

_"Oookay…" Anna muttered, not sure how to take the news._

_A moment of silence._

_"So… what now?" Anna asked. "Who are you, anyway?" The moment those words left her mouth she felt a sudden jolt in her heart, accompanied by the realization of the answer as it seemed to magically pop into her head while also making her feel how thoughtless her question had been. "Oh my God, sorry, that was dumb of me," she said, "of course you're God, who else would you be—"_

_'God' made a loud noise as if clearing 'His' throat, startling Anna into silence. Then she wondered if He even had a throat, or a human body, but shoved those thoughts aside as the booming voice again shook her entire being._

_"Now, my dear child, where shall we send you? Above is the paradise of heaven, below are the fires of hell. Let us hope your soul shall float up to our celestial kingdom."_

_There was an audible "snap" as if a giant had snapped his fingers, though Anna still saw nothing but the bright light. Suddenly Anna felt air whooshing past her as she seemed to fall through space._

_"Behold, now you are free," boomed the voice which was presumably God speaking. "Oh no, are you sinking? It seems that a lifetime of sin is weighing down your soul and preventing you from rising to heaven!"_

_Up to now Anna had thought nothing of her situation and only now realized its seriousness. With a jolt, she came alive, frantically paddling and clawing at the air, trying to climb back up, but to no avail. "Help, what's happening to me? If you're God, please help me!"_

_"Okay. Recite the Ten Commandments for me. Quickly now, before we lose you…"_

_Oh, crap… thought Anna, frantically trying to remember the lessons she'd blown off in her youth. She'd never really thought she would need to know that…_

_"Need some help, my dear?" God was mocking her now, taunting her, and Anna knew it, but she had no choice but to take it, knowing it was well deserved._

_"God, I'm sorry! I didn't know we needed to know that," Anna was still sinking through the air, and the light seemed to be gradually lessening in intensity._

_"Didn't My priests tell you? Even your dear sister told you, and you wouldn't listen. Can you tell me, dear princess, what is the punishment for disobedience to GOD?"_

_"I didn't know! How would I know, I never knew you existed until now!"_

_"Zero out of ten. I'm afraid you've failed the test, my dear. Let's go over the answers, shall we? Thou shalt not steal! Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor's goods! Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord in vain. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Thou shalt remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. Thou shalt honor thy father and mother. Thou shalt not bear false witness. Thou shall not commit adultery. These do sound familiar, now, don't they?"_

_Anna realized that indeed they did sound like things that she'd heard people say over the years…_

_"So now, tell me, Anna Christina Arensen, which of these commandments have you broken?"_

_"I…" Anna hesitated awkwardly, embarrassed to say what she knew she had done._

_"You cannot hide your thoughts from Me, dear. Go on now, say it."_

_Anna felt her cheeks flame up and she felt like a child again in her maker's presence as she squeaked out, "I… uh… did adultery?"_

_"And?" The booming voice prompted Anna to continue, sounding altogether too pleased at her discomfort._

_"And…" Anna tried to figure out what God wanted from her, "uh… I'm… sorry?"_

_"Do not lie to Me, Anna Christina Arensen."_

_"Um…"_

_"Genuine repentance is required for forgiveness of sin. Are you truly sorry for your sin… or are you only sorry to be called to account for it? Look inside yourself now."_

_"I…" Anna realized He was right – no matter how much she wanted to be sorry, she'd do it again a thousand times over. She said nothing, but then remembered that it made no difference whether she admitted it or not, God knew everything._

_"Yes, I do," boomed the Lord, responding to her thoughts, as if showing off His ability to divine them._

_But surely, Anna thought, the fact that her sin was for the purpose of saving Arendelle from eternal winter had to count in her favor?_

_"Don't give Me your transparent excuses, Anna Christina Arensen. We both know the true reason you did it."_

_Anna floated without control, hot all over with embarrassment._

_"Fine!" she finally burst out. "I did it for Elsa! Are you happy now!?"_

_"Aha, there it is," the Lord sounded pleased, "yes, for Elsa. Everything for Elsa." He pronounced 'Elsa' in what seemed to Anna a childishly mocking tone. "So can you tell me what sin that is?"_

_"The sin of loving my only sister?" Anna bit out sarcastically. By this point, Anna felt she'd been deliberately embarrassed and taunted so long that she was starting to feel persnickety. Not like it mattered anyway._

_"Idolatry," boomed the voice above, pronouncing judgment. "You disobeyed My Word because you cared first about… Elsa." Anna resented the way He twisted her sister's name, but could not stop His voice from resounding through her. "You placed Elsa before Me in your heart. You did have another god before Me, or rather, a goddess, and as My Word repeatedly warned you, I am a jealous God. And even now you would endure damnation for her… and so you shall."_

_Please let Elsa know about this, Anna thought silently – please let her go to heaven…_

_"Yes, let us hope it is not too late for your _dear_ sister," boomed the voice, mocking Anna one last time. "My angels will do what they can. But your sin has separated you from Me, and now I must say goodbye to yet another of My precious souls… Anna Christina Arensen."_

_Suddenly the light and warmth disappeared from around Anna and she screamed as she felt herself going into free-fall._

* * *

=== A tender moment, time unknown ===

_"You feel that?" Anna whispered._

_"What?" Elsa whispered back._

_"Our hearts."_

_Indeed, their hearts were beating in synchrony: pressed tightly against each other, each could feel the other's beats against their chest._

_For a moment they managed to put the pain of their burning skin on the back burner and focus on the feeling of their hearts thumping in time._

_Sadly, they were pulled out of their reverie all too soon by a snide voice from above. They turned, startled, to face the red-skinned devil standing over them on the edge of their lava pool, pointing his trident at them._

_"No contentment allowed here," he said sternly. "This is Hell. You are here to suffer, and only suffer." The devil turned on his heel and stalked off, trident in hand._

_Elsa and Anna turned back to each other, but now they were noticing the burn of the lava much more, having been made to think about it by the devil's words._

_"Damn him," Anna breathed. "He ruined the mood!"_

* * *

=== Kristoff's Fate ===

_In a lava pool adjacent to the one where Adgar and Idunn have been serving their sentences of eternal torment, a handsome blonde man has been passing the time by singing. Adgar and Idunn never knew him personally, even though he was once their subject, so they don't think anything of it. It's not until long afterward, when Anna and Elsa recognize something familiar in the faint voice that occasionally floats over from the next lava pit…_

_Reindeers are better than deities  
__Sven, don't you think that's true?_

_Yeah deities will judge you  
__And curse you and take you  
__Apart from your dearly beloved_

_But deities talk smoother than reindeers  
__Sven, don't you think I'm right?_

_That's once again true  
__Especially you_

_You got me, let's try one more song…_


End file.
